John Dillinger, My Saviour
by juuuuuustpeachy
Summary: Now homeless, Rachel sat against the wall, bloody, cut, bruised and crying. After a night at the club, Dillinger gets his drunk friends into the car. Once succeeding, he turns and sees Rachel. There is a better summary in chapter one. Please read and review.
1. Chapter 01

_Title: John Dillinger, My Saviour. _

_Summary: Rachel McAdams is now homeless. She's sitting outside a pub, bloody, cut, bruised and crying. After a successful bank robbery, John Dillinger and his gang go to Chicago to celebrate. When they leave a pub, John and three other men are the only sober ones left out of the eight of them. The four of them get their friends into the two cars, John turns and sees Rachel. He approaches her. After finding out her name and some of the reason why she is sitting out in the street, he tells her that she's welcome to stay with him and his friends. What will happen now? And how will Rachel cope with it?_

_Rated: M. _

_Warnings: Violence, language and mature content. _

_Disclaimer: Anything to do with the movie Public Enemies; the characters, the storyline, places belongs to Michael Mann, Ronan Bennett and Ann Biderman. I only own my characters and a few pit stops along the way in the plot. I make no my money from this. _

_Authors Notes: This chapter is in John's point of view. __Anyways, that's enough talking. I hope you like this chapter. _

_Love Bree, _

_x_

* * *

Chapter One.

_23rd October, 1933._

_10:38pm._

I walked out of a club in Chicago with my gang of seven men; Pete Pierpont, Russell Clark, Charles Makley, Edward W. Shouse Jr., Harry Copeland, James Clark, and John Hamilton. Tonight, we were busy celebrating. You see, earlier today, we completed a bank robbery. This one went down in Greencastle, Indiana, and the unsuspecting bank was the Central National Bank And Trust Co. After the bank robbery was completed, and we were well away from the bank and safe, we counted the money. We had managed to steal seventy-four thousand dollars, and the money was divided equally between the eight of us. Each gang member got nine-thousand, two hundred and fifty dollars. That was something to celebrate about, right? Yeah, and what was the best way to celebrate? Drink yourself until you're blind, and that was exactly what most of the guys did, as well. Pierpont, Hamilton, Copeland and I were the only sober ones, and the other four? They were drunk and pretty much at the point of passing out.

We managed to get the intoxicated men into the two cars we had driven here. I took a step back and turned around, and my dark eyes fell upon a woman. She was sitting on the cement ground with her back against the brick wall of the club, and her legs stretched out in front of her. Her head was buried in her hands. Even in the dim light, and the distance I was standing, I could see the blood on her skin, and I could see the cuts and the bruises._ What on earth happened to her? Was she robbed or was it something entirely different?_ I thought before I looked back at the gang.

"Wait here, I'll be back," I told them before I turned around and made my way over to the woman, not giving the guys the chance to say anything. I stopped beside her and bent down to her level. I reached out to touch her shoulder, but faltered my movements as I didn't want to cause her any more pain if her shoulder was anything like the rest of her body. I sighed as I placed my hand on my knee.

_Who could do this to a woman?_

"Excuse me, ma'am", I said, softly.

She removed her head from her hands and looked at me. In an instant, my eyes took in her damaged face. She had a black eye, a large bruise on the bridge of her nose and a bruise on her chin. My eyes moved to the cut on her left cheek. The cut was medium in size and looked pretty deep as well. It also looked fresh, maybe a few hours old. My eyes went down to her arms and took in the bruises that covered her skin. My eyes lingered on her arms for a few moments before I looked at her in the eyes for the first time.

"Are you okay?" I asked her and instantly wanted to kick myself. That was a stupid question to ask. Of course, she wasn't okay. You knew that straight away the moment you first look at her.

"He kicked me out. I have no place to live now," she replied, her voice barely above a whisper, but I could hear her perfectly.

"Who kicked you out?" I questioned, softly.

"My husband", she answered.

It then clicked, it now made sense. Her_ husband_ did this; he abused her and then had the audacity to kick her out. Men like that deserved to be shot, all of them. A woman brought them into this world so they have no right to disrespect one. How could they do that? I could never abuse a woman. I can't even bring myself to raise my voice at one of them. _I just can't._ I knew how it felt like to be yelled at, to be abused. I was abused as an adolescent. I was a very young child when my mama died and then after that, my childhood was ruined further as my daddy beat me because he had no better way to raise me.

"Why would he do that?" I asked her, even though, I was sure that I knew the reason. I waited for her reply, but it didn't come, and I didn't expect it to come either. Why would she tell me in the first place? I was a stranger to her, a stranger who shared something similar to her yet something entirely different.

"What is your name?" I requested.

"Rachel McAdams", she replied as she wiped her tears away with the back of her hand.

I thought for a few minutes. She couldn't stay on the streets. I knew that. What can I do though? I wanted to help her but how? I wondered. I could ask her if she wanted to come back to the apartment. It was a good idea. I mean, helping her and all, but asking her that seemed so risky. _I'm Public Enemy Number One_. The G-Men were looking for me and for my men.

It seemed that Rachel didn't know who I was, however, it was possible that she was so caught up in the state she was currently in that she may not recognise me now, but sooner or later that will change. I knew that for a fact. It might not be now, but it could change later tonight, or maybe sometime tomorrow, in a few days in the future or a week from today. The point was that if she realised who I was and she felt scared of me, she'd run straight to the G-Men and tell them where we were hiding out. So, it was either risk the chance of being recognised and help Rachel or don't help her at all. The second option seemed way too selfish. I was a gentleman and I hate seeing a woman like this; beaten and homeless. After I juggled the options, I finally decided what I was going to do.

"Hey Rachel", I started, and she looked over at me. "You know, you're welcome to stay with me and my friends if you like. You can have a shower, get that cut on your face cleaned up, have a hot meal and have a bed to sleep in. You're welcome to stay with us until you work something out."

"I appreciate your offer, really I do, but I can't impose on you and your friends", she answered.

"Rachel, it really is no problem, I mean, I am the one that asked you in the first place", I told her, with a genuine smile.

"Thank you, I mean it. I would like to say yes, but I don't even know your name", she resorted.

I smiled before I told her my name, "Well, Rachel McAdams, my name is John."

"Well John", she started, a small smile on her bruised lips. I almost sighed at that.. "If you don't mind, I think I would like to take you up on that offer."

"I don't mind at all", I replied as I stood up to my full height again and held my hand out to her. She smiled gratefully at me as she took my hand. I helped her to her feet. As we broke all ties of contact, I smiled at Rachel in a friendly matter before I led her to the cars. Once we reached the cars, I earned confused looks from the guys.

"Guys, this is Rachel. As you can see, she is in need of help. So I have offered her to stay with us until she works something out," I told my three sober gang members. "Rachel, these are Pete, Hamilton and Harry." I pointed to them as I said their names. When I looked back at Rachel, I saw a look of realisation cross her face. _Oh boy._

"Wait a minute, you're _Public Enemy Number One_, John Dillinger." She pointed at me, and I sighed and nodded. "And you're Harry Pierpont, John Hamilton and Harry Copeland. You guys are bank robbers."

To be honest, I was waiting for her to run away, screaming that I was here in Chicago. I was surprised at the fact that she didn't run away. She didn't move from her spot beside me.

"Are you scared?" Hamilton spoke for the first time.

She turned to face him. "Surprisingly no", she answered before she looked back at me. I cocked an eyebrow at her.

"Really?" I questioned.

She nodded, "I don't know why but I'm not scared of any of you. To be honest, I feel completely relaxed in your presence, all of you." She told us all, and I sensed no lies in her answer.

"Well that's good", I said and smiled at her. _At least, I don't have to worry about that. It does make things easier, much easier._ I thought before I turned to the guys. "Now, let's get this show on the road. Pete and Harry, you two go in the other car with Russell and Charles."

"Yes boss", Pete replied as they both nodded. I threw Pete the car keys and with that, they both turned away and walked to the other car. I watched as Pete got into the driver seat, and Harry got into the passenger seat.

"Hamilton and Rachel, you two are with me. Let's go", I told them, and Hamilton threw me the other set of keys to the car we were standing at. I walked around the car to the driver side. I opened the door and looked up at Rachel, who was looking at Hamilton.

"Rachel, you sit in shot gun. It's okay, I'll sit in the back seat with the two drunks." Red said as he opened the door behind the driver seat. He got in, and climbed over Oklahoma Jack and sat in between the two passed out drunks. I closed the door for him before he could.

"Thanks John", I heard him say from inside the car.

"No problem", I replied as I watched Rachel. It seemed she was unaware of me watching her as she opened the car door and got in. The door was closed with a thud.

I sighed, I wish she would talk to me. I have been through what she was going through. I know what it's like to be abused. Maybe then, I could help her. **Wait**, _what? What am I saying?_ I thought. Rachel was only staying with us for a few days, maybe a week at the most until she gets something worked out. Then, after that, I will never see her again. And that made me feel sad for some reason.

I frowned at my thoughts before I got into the car and closed the door behind me. As I kicked the engine into gear, I felt eyes on me and I looked over to find Rachel staring at me. After I sent her a smile, I turned to my attention back to the road and checked for any cars. When I didn't see any cars, I carefully pulled out of the car space and once we got out, I pushed my foot down on the acceleration pedal and zoomed down the street with the other car behind us.

* * *

_Reviews are loved and constructive criticism is welcome. Thank you for taking the time to read this. I hope you enjoyed it._

_Next chapter will be up soon._

_Love Bree,_

_x._


	2. Chapter 02

_Title: John Dillinger, My Saviour. _

_Summary: Rachel McAdams is now homeless. She's sitting outside a pub, bloody, cut, bruised and crying. After a successful bank robbery, John Dillinger and his gang go to Chicago to celebrate. When they leave a pub, John and three other men are the only sober ones left out of the eight of them. The four of them get their friends into the two cars, John turns and sees Rachel. He approaches her. After finding out her name and some of the reason why she is sitting out in the street, he tells her that she's welcome to stay with him and his friends. What will happen now? And how will Rachel cope with it?_

_Rated: M. _

_Warnings: Violence, language and mature content. _

_Disclaimer: Anything to do with the movie Public Enemies; the characters, the storyline, places belongs to Michael Mann, Ronan Bennett and Ann Biderman. I only own my characters and a few pit stops along the way in the plot. I make no my money from this. _

_Authors Notes: This chapter is in John's point of view. I'd like to thank those who reviewed, and anyone who has added this story to their alerts and favourites. __Anyways, I hope you like this chapter. _

_Love Bree, _

_x_

* * *

Chapter 02.  
The car ride was soundless, the only sounds that broke it was the roar of the engine and the light snores that came from the back seat. Both Hamilton and I were silent, and I didn't expect Rachel to say anything either. Every now and then, I would look away from the road to glance over at Rachel. And every time I did that, she was staring out the window. To me, it seemed she was preoccupied with her thoughts, and I couldn't blame her. I'd then look back at the road, my own thoughts drifting to the woman who occupied the passenger seat.

Less than ten minutes later, we pulled up outside the apartment complex we were staying at while we were in Chicago. I killed the engine, opened the door and pushed myself out of the seat. I looked around the street, looking for anything suspicious. I don't even know why I checked in the first place. It was a precaution, I guess. Deep down, I knew that I could trust Rachel, even though, I didn't know her that well.

As I looked around, nothing screamed suspicious, so I moved my attention back to the car. I turned around and closed the driver's door. I looked across the car as I heard the passenger door open. I watched as Rachel stepped out and she turned around, her eyes falling on me as she closed the door with a soft thud. We held eye contact for a few moments before I tore my gaze away from her. I stepped to my right, stopping in front of the door directly behind the driver seat. I took a small step back as I opened the door. I stepped forward again and carefully pulled an intoxicated Edward out of the car with the help of Hamilton. As we did that, Edward opened his eyes and looked around, taking in the newly familiar environment.

"Hey there, Edward", I said, my voice low as I knew my friend would be in pain, and I didn't want to add to it. As I stood up to my full height of 5'10 again, I pulled Edward up with him. "Place your arm around my shoulders." I told him with a slight command in my voice. Edward did what I said and placed his arm around my shoulder. Once that was done, I wrapped my arms around his middle, which supported his weight.

"Thanks John..." He mumbled.

"Shh... it's okay", I replied as I led Edward around the car. We joined Rachel on the pavement and waited in silence while Hamilton got out of the car and shut the door behind him. Hamilton made his way to the other side of the car and opened the back door. He leaned down and pulled Oklahoma Jack out of the car. I heard Hamilton's laughter before he went and did the same as me. When Hamilton turned to face us, I looked at Jack and understood why Hamilton laughed. Jack was passed out with his mouth hanging open slightly and snoring. It was a funny sight, no doubt.

We waited for Pete and Harry before we all went inside. Rachel held the door for the eight of us, allowing us to enter first. I smiled at her gratefully as Edward and I were the last pair to enter. When we reached the stairs, I looked over my shoulder and found Rachel watching me. She smiled at me which I returned instantly. We made our way the two flight of stairs and got on to our level. Hamilton and I separated from Pete and Harry to take Jack and Edward to the apartment they were sharing with Hamilton. I led Edward to the room he was staying in. The clicking heels behind me told me that Rachel was following me.

"Can you pull the blankets back for me?" I asked Rachel as I looked at her. She nodded and rushed over to the bed. She pulled the blankets backward before she stepped back and gave us room. I said my thanks to her before I proceeded forward with Edward and stopped beside the bed. I looked at her again, "Now, can you help me here?"

She nodded and stepped towards us before she asked, "Sure, what with?"

"Just hold him, so he doesn't fall to the floor like a sack of potatoes", I replied, and Rachel nodded as she grabbed a hold of Edward. I watched her for a few moments to make sure that she had a good hold on Edward. When I was sure that she did, I then proceeded to help Edward change.

The first thing I removed was Edward's coat, and I chucked it on the chair off to the side. The next thing I did, was pull his dress shirt out of the waistband of his black pants and then unbutton the buttons on the shirt. I didn't find this awkward at all. I was just helping a friend in need. I told Edward to sit down on the edge of the bed. When he did, I took his shoes off and dropped them on the floor beside the chair. I helped into bed and pulled the blankets over him.

"Thank you... John and... ma'am," Edward mumbled as I stood up again.

"It's okay, just get some sleep, and we'll see you in the morning", I told him, and Edward nodded before he rolled over on to his side and closed his eyes. I stepped back and turned to look at Rachel. "Thank you again."

She smiled and nodded, "It's okay, it's the least I can do."

I raised an eyebrow at her, but nodded before I changed the subject. "So. You probably want to shower and change, get that cut cleaned up, have some food and get to bed, right?" I asked her. When Rachel nodded her head, I continued on with speaking. "Come on then."

I turned around and walked out of the room. I could hear the sound of her heels clicking against the wooden floor as she caught up with me. We walked in silence and in step with each other. As we reached the front door, Hamilton emerged from Jack's bedroom. He said his good night and showed us out. Being the gentleman whom I am, I motioned Rachel to walk out first. As she passed me, she sent me a smile. As I stepped out of the apartment, I turned around, and I looked at Hamilton. He smiled before he closed the door. When the lock clicked, I turned to Rachel and stared at her.

She was petite with long, curly, blonde hair and honey hued skin. Underneath the cuts and bruises, I could see the scattering of freckles across her average-sized nose and cheeks. She had green eyes, which reminded me of the tree leaves in the rainforest. Her brows were fair in colour and had a striking arch, highlighting her eyes even more. Her green eyes were framed by long curled lashes that fan outwards in a dramatic and almost in a feline way. She had high cheek bones accented by a strong angled jaw line.

Wait, what? Am I really saying this? I thought to myself. Okay, I admit; Rachel was very beautiful, and even if she was covered in cuts and bruises. My thoughts then drifted to her husband. How could he do that to someone so beautiful? I almost growled but stopped myself just in time. I shook my head lightly and freed myself from my thoughts. I looked into Rachel's green eyes.

"Come on", I said and turned to walk away. I led her to the door of the apartment I was staying in. I fished the keys out of my pocket and pushed the right key into the lock. It unlocked and I pushed the door open. I stepped in first this time and switched on the light. I held the door open for Rachel as she entered the apartment. Once she was inside, I closed the door behind her and I locked the door. I turned around and walked past Rachel, and walked over to the lounge. I dropped the keys on the coffee table before I shrugged out of my coat and laid it on the lounge. I looked at Rachel. "There's only one bedroom, which is mine, but you're welcome to have it, if you like. I'm happy to sleep on the lounge if you want to sleep in a bed tonight." I told her softly.

She stopped looking around and looked at me. She shook her head and said, "Oh no, I can't take your bed. You have done more than enough for me. I'm happy to sleep on the lounge. Thank you though."

I nodded. "Well the offer is still open if you change your mind." I replied and smiled. She returned the smile. "Okay, well I'll show you around, and then you can have a shower and change."

After I showed Rachel around the apartment, I led her to the bathroom, so she could have a shower and get changed out of her clothes. I pulled the towel from the rack next to the shower and turned to Rachel and gave it to her.

"Here's your towel and I'll leave you a change of clothes on the bed. Now, I'll leave you to have a shower in peace. I'll be in the lounge room, call out if you need anything, okay?" I told her, and she nodded.

"Thank you, John," she said quietly, and I smiled at her before I turned and exited the small bathroom. I closed the door behind me in the process. I stopped by my suitcase when I heard the shower start. I sighed, how can anyone do that to a woman? Abuse them and then kick them out. They sure do have the nerve. I may not hit women, but I can definitely do it to the men who hit them.

After finding a change of clothes for Rachel, I neatly laid them on the queen bed before I left the bedroom and closed the bedroom door behind me. I walked over to the lounge and sat down and let my thoughts run.

Ten minutes later, I was pulled out of my thoughts when I heard the bedroom door open, and I looked up. Rachel emerged from the bedroom dressed in the clothes I had given her, which was a shirt of mine and a pair of long sleep pants. I could see that the clothes were a little big for her. My eyes followed her every movement as she slowly walked over to me. I noticed that she was walking funny, like she was limping. I didn't say anything though. She sat down beside me and looked over at me.

"Is it okay if I go ahead and clean that cut on your face?" I asked, and I heard her sigh.

"Yes", she nodded. I smiled sadly at her before I got up and made my way into the kitchen. I grabbed the essentials for this; scissors, some towels, the alcohol, some warm water and soap and the first-aid kit. I walked back into the lounge room, my arms full of the things I needed so I could do this. It wasn't the first time I've done this, and to be honest; I have actually lost count. I have always cleaned my own wounds, well, the ones that I can do and reach, of course. Otherwise, Hamilton or Pete does it for me.

I walked around the lounge, now in the view of Rachel. I could feel her eyes piercing into me as I placed everything on the coffee table in front of me before I sat down again.

"Okay, for me to clean this cut, I have to clean use soap and water, then I'll have to use the alcohol", I told her, and the expression on her face told me she was pained about this, but she nodded anyway. This needed to be done, I knew it, and she knew it. "I'll go as fast as I can, okay?"

She nodded, "It's okay."

I grabbed a towel, and dipped a corner of it into the bowl of warm water and liquid soap, and moved my hand up to her cheek. I carefully washed the cut. As I was doing this, the cut started bleeding again. Then, it dawned upon me, that she was going to need stitches.

"Now, this part is going to hurt", I warned her as I grabbed the bottle of alcohol from the coffee table. This was going to hurt. A lot. Even tiny cuts hurt when they had alcohol dumped on them. I looked up at Rachel with the bottle in my hand and I asked, "Hey Rachel?"

"I'm okay! Let's just get this done!" Rachel said.

I smiled at her eagerness. I could understand why she was eager to get this done. The whole process of cleaning cuts with alcohol was just painful. As I dabbed a cotton ball with the alcohol, on the corner of my eye, I saw Rachel brace herself. I placed the alcohol on the table before I turned my attention to the cut. As soon as it came into contact with the cut, the younger woman moaned in pain before she bit the sound off. I looked up, and Rachel's eyes were closed. Her face was full of pain.

"I'm sorry", I apologised, and she opened her eyes and met mine. I stopped what I was doing as we stared each other for a moment before I brought my attention back to the scene at hand.

"It's okay. It has to be done." Rachel answered as I threw the cotton ball on the coffee table. I looked at her again.

"Okay, the best way for this cut to heal is to stitch it up." I told her. "Is that okay?"

She nodded and replied, "Do whatever you need to do."

I dug through the kit until I found the sutures. I went into the bathroom and carefully washed my hands. When I came back into the room, Rachel had her eyes closed again.

"Rachel?" I asked as I walked over to the lounge.

"I'm okay, John", she replied as she opened her eyes and smiled a little at me. I sat down beside her and I opened the sterile suture package and held the needle over her cheek. I took a deep breath and carefully pushed the needle through her skin. Rachel gritted her teeth; I could actually hear them grinding together. I ran the needle through the other side of the cut and very carefully pulled it tight. I tied it off and grabbed the scissors to cut the thread. I placed the scissors on the coffee table again and started on the next stitch, just focusing on the action and not thinking about what I was actually doing.

One stitch. Two stitches. Three stitches.

I kept going until the cut was closed. I dropped my hand and leaned back, taking a look at what I had done. It was nicely done. It was holding, and the bleeding had dropped off to a trickle. I cleaned the blood away and grabbed a sterile pad from the coffee table. I held it over the freshly done stitches.

"Can you hold that?" I asked her, and she nodded before she reached up to hold the sterile pad in place over my hand. As our hands touched, a strange feeling of electricity ran throughout my whole body. I wonder if she felt it as well. _Wait, seriously, what am I thinking?_ I thought as I removed my hand. I lightly shook my head and started to clean up the mess on the coffee table.

"Thank you, John", she said suddenly, and I stopped what I was doing to look at her. "I mean it, John. I was just a stranger to you yet you still came over to me and asked if I was okay. You then told me that I was welcome to stay with you and your friends. You've allowed me in your home... well your home for the moment, you've let me use your shower, get my cut cleaned up, and you're giving me a bed to sleep in. That's more than I could ever ask for, thank you. I am so grateful of you."

"Rachel, it's fine. You don't have to thank me, although, I am flattered by your words", I replied, and I smiled.

"Yes, I do. You've done so much for me and you don't even know me." She answered, and I sighed.

"Okay, fine. I'll just say it's fine every time you thank me", I grinned, and she poked her tongue out at me. I gasped in mock surprise as Rachel tried to suppress her giggles, but ended up bursting into laughter. Her laugh was very contagious because it caused me to start laughing, too.

We were still laughing a couple of minutes later. I stopped and took a deep breath to calm myself down. I looked at Rachel. "Hey Rachel, I just want you to know that I'm here if you want to talk about anything." I told her, and her laughter stopped as she looked down at her lap for a few moments.

She looked up at me again, "Thank you."

I nodded twice before I changed the subject, "So. Have you changed your mind about sleeping in the bed tonight? I'm happy to sleep on the lounge if you want the bed."

"The lounge is just fine. Thank you", she replied and smiled softly.

"Okay then, after I clean up here, I'll go and get you some blankets and a pillow so you can get to sleep." I told her and stood up from the lounge.

"Would you like some help?" She asked.

I looked at her and shook my head before I answered, "It's fine. You just sit there."

"Okay then", she shrugged her shoulders and leaned back against the lounge as a grin tugged at her bruised lips. Boy, she could be cheeky. A grin tugged at my lips before I started to clean up.

I grabbed the scissors, the alcohol, the bowl of warm soapy water, and the first-aid kit and skillfully carried them all back to the kitchen. I carefully placed everything on the bench before I took the bowl of the water to the sink. I dumped the water from the bowl in the sink before I placed the plug in the drain. I turned the taps on and let the water run. Once the sink was half full, I turned the taps off and then proceeded to clean the bowl in warm water before I placed it in the dish rack to dry. I emptied the sink and pulled the plug from the drain. I returned everything back its rightful place before I left the kitchen.

I walked into the lounge and saw Rachel still in the same spot on the lounge. I walked around the lounge and picked up the towel from the floor and grabbed the other towels from the coffee table. I made my way out of the lounge room and into my bedroom. I dumped the wet that I had used into the hamper before I entered the bathroom. After I hung the towels back up, I went back into the bedroom again. I pulled the comforter off the bed and grabbed the softest pillow out of the two before I walked back into the lounge room.

"Here, these are for you", I told her as I walked over to her. As I stopped beside her, Rachel stood up from the lounge. She grabbed the pillow first and threw it on the lounge before she took the comforter out of my hands. She threw it messily on the lounge before she turned to me again.

"Why thank you, you kind sir," she replied and smiled at me.

I let out a laugh. "You're welcome, Rachel", I responded, "Well, I'm going to go to hit the hay."

"Okay, John. I'll see you in morning", she replied.

"Also, don't be afraid to come and wake me up if you need anything during the night", I told her.

Rachel nodded before she leaned up on her toes and pressed her lips to my cheek for a peck. I looked at her with a surprised look as she backed away from me. "Good night John."

"Night." I replied after she had looked away from me, her attention now on her bed for the next few days. I stared at her a few minutes before I turned on my heel and walked away from her. When I reached the bedroom door, I stopped and looked back at Rachel. She was still fixing up her bed.

I turned around and entered the bedroom. I switched on the light and closed the door. I stripped out of my clothes, leaving me in my briefs. I threw my clothes on the chair off to the side of the bed, and I walked over to my suitcase and picked it up. I dropped it on the queen bed and dug through it, searching for another pair of long sleep pants. When I found them, I pulled them on. I picked my suitcase up again and returned it to its spot on the floor beside the door. I turned out the light, and navigated my way through the darkness and over to the bed. I got into bed and pulled the fitted sheet over me. I rolled on to my side and found a comfortable spot. My eyes slowly closed and I fell into darkness.

* * *

_Reviews are loved and constructive criticism is welcome. Thank you for taking the time to read this. I hope you enjoyed it._

_Next chapter will be up soon._

_Love Bree,_

_x._


	3. Chapter 03

_Title: John Dillinger, My Saviour. _

_Summary: Rachel McAdams is now homeless. She's sitting outside a pub, bloody, cut, bruised and crying. After a successful bank robbery, John Dillinger and his gang go to Chicago to celebrate. When they leave a pub, John and three other men are the only sober ones left out of the eight of them. The four of them get their friends into the two cars, John turns and sees Rachel. He approaches her. After finding out her name and some of the reason why she is sitting out in the street, he tells her that she's welcome to stay with him and his friends. What will happen now? And how will Rachel cope with it?_

_Rated: M. _

_Warnings: Violence, language and mature content. _

_Disclaimer: Anything to do with the movie Public Enemies; the characters, the storyline, places belongs to Michael Mann, Ronan Bennett and Ann Biderman. I only own my characters and a few pit stops along the way in the plot. I make no my money from this. _

_Authors Notes: This chapter is in Rachel's point of view. I'd like to thank those who reviewed, and anyone who has added this story to their alerts and favourites. __Anyways, I hope you like this chapter. _

_Love Bree, _

_x_

* * *

Chapter 03.  
I was sick of everything – my husband, the abuse, the name-calling.

My loving husband, loving, is that what you call him? Loving, my ass. He's nothing but abusive, rude, destructive, aggressive – the sound of the door opening and closing pulled me from my thoughts. I could hear the heavy footsteps of my loving husband echo our little house.

I was in the kitchen, standing at the sink, washing my hands. I heard his footsteps get closer. Soon, they stopped. He was here in the kitchen with me. I could feel his eyes piercing into me, and I quietly heaved a sigh. I turned the tap off and reached for the tea towel on the bench. I dried my hands with it before I threw it back on the bench. I turned around to see him leaning against the door frame.

"Hey Thomas," I said and tried to smile, but the smile didn't reach my eyes. I tried to be happy to see him, but I couldn't, not anymore. I was happier when he wasn't around. Something changed Thomas. I don't know what happened, but it didn't just change him. It changed me as well. Before the sudden change, Thomas was loving, caring and respective towards me. However, one day, he just changed. It happened about four months ago, and I remember the day like it happened yesterday.

* * *

_Flashback.  
Thomas was due to get home about four thirty, maybe five o'clock at the latest, but he never got home. I just figured that he was tied up at work, and he would be home as soon as possible. When six thirty rolled on, he still wasn't home, and I was starting to get worried. Normally, if he was going to be this late, he'd call. However, I didn't hear anything._

_Seven o'clock. Eight o'clock. Nine o'clock._

_Slowly, ten o'clock rolled on, and I was sitting on the lounge, reading a book, trying to keep my emotions in check. I was worried that something had happened to Thomas. I sighed in relief and closed the book I was reading when I heard the front door open. I placed the book on the coffee table before I stood up. I walked out to the foyer and looked at my husband. He seemed to be alright, like nothing bad happened to him, but I couldn't help but notice something seemed a little different about my husband, and that troubled me._

_"Where have you been, Thomas? I have been worried sick about you", I said as I crossed my arms across my chest. I watched in silence as he hung his coat in the closet. He slammed the closet door, and I jumped. He spun around to face me. He took a few steps towards me until his chest was against mine. He towered over me. He stood tall at 6'2 while I only stood at 5'4. I have never felt so intimidated by my husband. _

_"You don't need to worry about me. I can take care of myself", he replied, his voice low; dangerous._

_"Now I wonder about that..." I said, under my breath._

_"What was that?" Thomas sneered as he lowered his head to mine. His eyes were in slits as he glared at me. He was breathing hard. As his breath hit my lips, and I could smell the alcohol. So, that was where he has been. The pub._

_"Nothing..." I trailed off as I looked away from his eyes._

_The following few moments seemed to pass like a blur. The next thing I knew, I was on the floor, holding my cheek. I felt a stinging sensation across it. Then, realisation washed over me. He hit me! Never in our marriage of four years has he ever laid a hand upon me in such a manner._

_I looked up at him as tears began to brim along my water line. He looked at me once more before he turned and walked away. He left me sitting there on the floor. I heard the bedroom door slam shut and I sighed. I stood up from my spot on the floor and walked into the bathroom. I switched on the light and walked over to the basin. I looked into the mirror at my reflection. I had a nice angry red hand print on the right side of my face. I couldn't believe it; he slapped me. I slept on the lounge that night. I didn't want to be in the same room, let alone, the same bed as him._

_The next morning, I didn't speak to him at all other than saying good morning. Hell, he didn't even deserve that. I ate my breakfast in silence before I went to the lounge room to read my book. Before he left for work that morning, he came over to me with a sorrow look on his face. I ignored him and carried on with reading. He sat there for a few minutes, and I could tell he was getting annoyed at me. He took the book I was reading out of my hands, and I looked up and narrowed my eyes at him as he placed the book on the coffee table. He looked back at me._

_"Rachel, I am so sorry for what I did last night. I didn't mean to. I was having a bad day yesterday. I was dealing with angry people for most of the day. Once I finished work, I decided to go to the pub for a few drinks with Robert to wind down before I came home. I was only going to stay for an hour and just have a few drinks. However, a few drinks turned into a few too many. Rachel, I am so sorry. It will never happen again. I promise," he apologised to me._

_I forgave him in an instant. I believed him. I told him the past can't be undone. _

_To say that was a mistake would be an understatement. You know what they say – once a hitter, always a hitter. I just wish I knew that at the time. It happened again and again. _

* * *

I pulled myself out of my thoughts and the memories, and focused my attention on Thomas again.

"How was your day?" I asked him. I had to be a good wife as Thomas would tell me. I'd have to start the conversations and ask him how his day was, other wise, if I didn't, I would be handed a slap across the cheek.

He never asked about my day, never me asked how it was or what I got up to. Never. It was all about him. This marriage, if you could call it that, became all about him. I didn't matter. Now, I wasn't his wife. I was his servant. I was someone who he could push me around, and tell me what to do and I'd have to do it. Not just that, I was his punching bag too, I was someone he could take his anger out on.

"It was okay. Work was a little slow at first, but it eventually picked up by noon," he answered, his voice broke me from my thoughts again. I nodded at him, telling him that I understood what he was saying.

Now, what was Thomas' job, you're wondering? Well, he worked at the local bank. It was long hours, and it was a well-paying job. And even though it was extended hours, I didn't mind one bit. Him being at work gave me peace during the hours of the day.

"Well that's good," I said as I walked over to the fridge and opened the door, so I could get the ingredients out for dinner. I was going to make vegetable soup for dinner tonight.

As I was bent over my head in the coldness of the fridge, I could feel the presence of Thomas behind me, and I could feel his eyes on me. I resisted the urge to shiver and I tried to ignore the feeling of his eyes. I grabbed an onion, two garlic cloves and a potato, skillfully carrying them in one hand as I went to grab another ingredient. Before I could grasp it, a pair of hands grabbed my hips. I tried to ignore it but deep down, I knew today would be like every other day. First, it'd start with him standing behind me, just like now. Then, he would grab of my hips while I had my attention else where, exactly like now. Soon enough, his lips would be attached to my throat while his hands roamed my body.

I shook my head, and pushed those thoughts to the back of my mind as I took a step back so I could stand to full my height without hitting my head on the fridge. It wouldn't be the first time that it has happened either. I almost laughed at the thought, but stopped when I felt Thomas press up behind me. He pressed his lips to the side of my throat, just below my ear as his hands moved from my hips and went down to my buttocks. I almost dropped the ingredients when he roughly slapped my rear end. His hands trailed up my body, stopping at my chest. I yelped as he roughly grabbed my breasts through the thin material of the dress I was wearing.

"Thomas...what are you doing?" I asked, and his lips left my skin for a moment.

"I'm pleasuring you," he replied and spun me around so I was facing him. Wait, he was pleasuring me? Is that what you call it? I would call it painful rather than pleasure. "Thomas, please stop, you're hurting me."

I could hear the pain in my voice. He stopped what he was doing, and I suddenly became more scared than I was feeling. I used the word _stop_. I used a word that made Thomas mad, very mad. I knew what was coming next, the name-calling would start. Not only, that, the physical abuse was about to start too.

"Listen here, you whore." His voice got louder, and I cringed. See? I wasn't lying. The anger was raging in his voice, "We are going to pleasure each other whether you like it or not."

I couldn't do anything, I couldn't say anything. I was just too scared. When I didn't say anything, he continued on talking.

"Now, you're wearing too much clothing. Let's get you out of that dress." He had a sick grin on his face. He grabbed the bottom of my dress, and pulled it up over my head. He let go of the dress and it fell to the floor. His eyes darted over my body, and I resisted the urge to shiver again. His hand slid into the inside of my slip straps. He pushed them off my shoulders and halfway down my arms. It dropped in a heap at my feet, and I stood before Thomas clothed only in my panty briefs. The top half of my body was exposed to Thomas' hungry eyes, and that made me feel nervous and vulnerable. The first instinct was to cover my breasts with my arms. "Ah, that's better."

He smirked. He grabbed my shoulders and roughly pushed me down to me knees. I gave a startled mew of protest and then a hard slap across the face silenced me. I held my cheek as a stinging sensation washed over me.

"Now, here comes the best part," Thomas said, and I shivered at what I heard in his voice, I could hear the _evil_ in it. _Evil_, there was no other word to explain it. A look of horror and fear froze on my already pale face as I watched Thomas undo his belt before unzipping his pants. They fell down and pooled around his ankles before he pulled down his dark briefs as well.

Now, instead of going into the deep and graphic details of the most horrific two and half hours of my life, I'll just say that every time I screamed for help, I'd get hit or punched. At some point during the violation, Thomas had grabbed a knife that was sitting on the bench, however, that didn't stop me from trying.

I just wanted out. I have never felt so dirty and used.

I was pretty much thrown out of the house after that. I had nothing, but I couldn't care less. I didn't care as long as I was out of that house, out of that life, out of that _nightmare_. As I limped my way down the dark streets, I became too engulfed with my thoughts. I couldn't believe it. Normally, he'd just yell at me and abuse me, but never did he go as far as rape. However, tonight, he did. He officially became a monster.

I pulled myself out of my thoughts as I came to a curb. I stopped walking and looked around at the neighbourhood I was currently in. It took me a moment to realise that I was a down town. Where all the clubs, the town shops and the businesses were situated. I crossed the street, and I stopped in front of a club and took a breather. I leaned against the wall of the club and slid down it. I stretched my legs out in front of me. I buried my head in my hands and finally let out the tears.

As the night moved along slowly, I stayed in front of the club. I was too tired, too sore. I felt all the stares. I heard all the whispers, all the comments. I ignored them. These people saw the state I was in but none of the them even bothered to come over and see if I was alright. It wasn't like I was looking for attention or anything, but someone caring would feel a little nice. Was that too much to ask for?

* * *

_Reviews are loved and constructive criticism is welcome. Thank you for taking the time to read this. I hope you enjoyed it._

_Next chapter will be up soon._

_Love Bree,_

_x._


	4. Chapter 04

_Title: John Dillinger, My Saviour. _

_Summary: Rachel McAdams is now homeless. She's sitting outside a pub, bloody, cut, bruised and crying. After a successful bank robbery, John Dillinger and his gang go to Chicago to celebrate. When they leave a pub, John and three other men are the only sober ones left out of the eight of them. The four of them get their friends into the two cars, John turns and sees Rachel. He approaches her. After finding out her name and some of the reason why she is sitting out in the street, he tells her that she's welcome to stay with him and his friends. What will happen now? And how will Rachel cope with it?_

_Rated: M. _

_Warnings: Violence, language and mature content. _

_Disclaimer: Anything to do with the movie Public Enemies; the characters, the storyline, places belongs to Michael Mann, Ronan Bennett and Ann Biderman. I only own my characters and a few pit stops along the way in the plot. I make no my money from this. _

_Authors Notes: __This chapter is in Rachel's point of view. I'd like to thank those who reviewed, and anyone who has added this story to their alerts and favourites. __Anyways, I hope you like it. _

_Love Bree, _

_x_

* * *

Chapter 04.  
My head was still buried in my hands when I heard approaching footsteps. I felt the presence of whoever it was crouched down beside me.

"Excuse me, ma'am", a male voice came from beside me.

I removed my head from my hands. I looked up at the man and watched his eyes moved across my face, taking in the damage before his eyes moved again, this time, they down to my arms. His eyes lingered on my bruised arms for a few moments, much longer than I wanted him to. I wanted to hide the bruises from him with my hands, but I couldn't, there were just too many to cover. He looked at me in the eyes for the first time.

"Are you okay?" He asked.

"He kicked me out. I have no where to live now", I replied, my voice barely above a whisper but somehow, I knew the stranger would be able to hear me perfectly.

"Who kicked you out?" He asked me. His voice was soft.

I picked up on the fair amount of care in his voice, and not just that, curiousness as well.

"My husband", I answered his question, and the stranger's facial expression suddenly changed. I saw a look of realisation cross his face. It then dawned on me that he knew what happened to me. I didn't have to tell him. Was it possible that he has been through something similar to me? Would that be the reason why he knew so quickly?

"Why would he do that?" He questioned.

I really wanted to say because _he's an asshole_, but I didn't, instead; I gave him nothing but silence. After a few minutes of silence, he asked me what my name was.

"Rachel McAdams", I replied as I wiped my falling tears away with the back of my hand. _Wait, what am I doing?_ I thought. Being an idiot, that was what, I mean, I'm telling a stranger my name and problems.

"Hey Rachel", the man started after a couple of minutes of silence, and I looked over at him. "You know, you're welcome to stay with me and my friends if you like. You can have a shower, get that cut on your face cleaned up, have a hot meal and have a bed to sleep in. You're welcome to stay with us until you work something out."

Wait...what? Was he really offering me all that until I worked something out? Why would he do that to me? I was just a stranger. "I appreciate your offer, really I do, but I don't want to impose on you and your friends", I replied, very grateful for the offer.

"Rachel, it really is no problem, I mean, I am the one that asked you in the first place", he told me, with a genuine smile.

"Thank you, I mean it. I would like to say yes, but I don't even know your name", I resorted, and he smiled.

"Well Rachel McAdams, my name is John." He said.

"Well John," I started, a smile on my lips. "If you don't mind, I think I would like to take you up on that offer."

"I don't mind at all," John replied as he stood up and held his hand out to me. I smiled gratefully at him as I took his hand. He carefully helped me to my feet. As we broke all ties of contact, John smiled at me in a friendly matter before he led me to the car. Have I ever mentioned that he looked strangely familiar? No? Well, he does. I've seen him from somewhere, but I can't put my finger on it. Once we reached the car, I saw three men standing around the car, and they were shooting John looks.

"Guys, this is Rachel. As you can see, she is in need of help. So, I have offered her to stay with us until she works something out." John told them. After John introduced the guys, realisation washed over me. Then I knew where I've seen him. He's John Dillinger, _Public Enemy Number One_. I would be walking in the streets with Thomas, and this was when we were happy, mind you, and I would see wanted posters with his name, and picture plastered all over it.

"Wait a minute, you're _Public Enemy Number One_, John Dillinger." I pointed at John, and I heard him sigh and saw him nod. "And you're Harry Pierpont, John Hamilton and Harry Copeland. You guys are bank robbers."

I could tell by the look on his face that he was waiting for me to run away, screaming that he was here in Chicago. However, I didn't. I stayed put. What was I feeling, you're asking. Well not scared, that's what. I'm feeling...I don't know, relaxed. I don't know why. I mean I should be scared, but I'm not. I feel comfortable in his presence, in all of their presences. "And you're Harry Pierpont, John Hamilton and Harry Copeland. You're bank robbers." I continued.

"Are you scared?" John Hamilton spoke for the first time.

I turned to face him. "Surprisingly no", I answered before I looked back at John.

He cocked an eyebrow at me, "Really?" he questioned.

I nodded, "I don't know why but I'm not scared of any of you. To be honest, I feel completely relaxed in your presence, all of you." I told them all, absolutely telling the truth. People call them dangerous, but I've seen far more dangerous people before, and I'm talking about _him_. My _husband_... well, he wasn't my husband anymore.

"Well that's good", John's voice pulled me from my thoughts. He smiled at me before he turned to the guys. He told Harry Copeland and Pete Pierpont to go in the other car with Russell Clark and Charles Makley. John threw Pete the car keys and with that, they both turned away and walked to the other car. He then told John Hamilton and myself that we were with him.

After he got the keys to the car from Hamilton, John walked around the car to the driver side. During that time, I was told by Hamilton to sit in the front seat. I went to open to my mouth to argue back but decided against it. Arguing with these guys wouldn't be the smartest thing to do. I got into the passenger seat, unaware of the pair of eyes watching me. A few moments later, John got in behind the wheel and closed the door behind him with a thud. I looked over at him as he kicked the engine into gear. As if he felt my eyes, he looked over and met my eyes. He smiled at me before he turned back to the road. Soon enough, we were on our way to wherever John Dillinger, and his gang were staying.

During the drive to wherever we were going, it was silent. The only two sounds that broke it was the roar of the engine and the light snores that came from the back seat. Dillinger and Hamilton were both silent. I couldn't bring myself to say anything – I was still too shocked. Shocked about everything that happened tonight. Being forced into sex by my own husband, being thrown out of my home when he was finished with me, and then walking to down town and sitting down in front of a club. The part that shocked me the most was when John Dillinger came into it. He came over to me and asked me if I was okay. He then told me that I was welcome to stay with him and his friends. He was allowing me in his home, allowing me to take a shower and get cleaned up, and he was giving me a bed to sleep in and possibly a home until I got something worked out. That was more than I could ever ask for. And even if he doesn't admit it, and he probably won't, but he was my saviour, and I was so damn grateful for him and what he has done for me already.

I kept my eyes outside the car during the drive. Every now and then, I could feel a pair of eyes on me. The feeling would wash over me for a few moments before it would disappear. Then it'd be back and then it would disappear again.

Ten or so minutes later, we pulled up outside an apartment complex. John killed the engine, and opened the door and pushed himself out of the seat. I watched as he did this. He closed the door and turned around, his back to the car. He stood there for a few minutes before he turned around again. What on earth is he doing? I wondered and got out of the car myself. I turned around, and my eyes fell on John as I closed the car door with a soft thud. John and I held eye contact for a few moments before he moved his gaze from me. I turned on my heel, and took a step forward, and I was now standing on the sidewalk. I turned around and watched John again as he got one of the snoring drunks from the back seat. As John got him out of the car, the man woke up, and I recognised him, it was Edward W. Shouse Jr.

John got Edward to wrap his arms around John's shoulders and once that was done. John wrapped his arms around Edward's middle, which supported his weight. John and Edward walked around the car and joined me on the sidewalk. We stood in silence as Hamilton got out of the car and shut the door behind him. He made his way to the other side we were standing and opened the back door. He leaned down and pulled Oklahoma Jack out of the car. Hamilton laughed before he did the same as John. When Hamilton turned to face them, my eyes went straight to Jack, and I instantly understood why Hamilton laughed. Jack was passed out with his mouth hanging open slightly and snoring. It was a funny sight, no doubt. I let out a laugh at the same time as John.

We waited for Pete and Harry before we all went inside. I held the door for the gang of eight men, allowing them to enter first. John smiled at me gratefully as he and Edward were the last pair to enter. I walked into the complex and followed him to the stairs. We made our way up the two flight of stairs, and got onto our level. Hamilton and John separated from the others to take Jack and Edward to the apartment they were sharing with Hamilton. John led Edward to the room he was staying in, and I followed behind, not knowing where I should go while John did this.

"Can you pull the blankets back for me?" He asked me as he looked over at me. I nodded and rushed over to the bed. I pulled the blankets backward before I stepped back. He said his thanks to me before he proceeded forward with Edward and stopped beside the bed. He looked at me again, "Now, can you help me here?"

I nodded and stepped towards us before I asked, "Sure, what with?"

"Just hold him, so he doesn't fall to the floor like a sack of potatoes." He replied, and I nodded as I grabbed a hold of Edward. John watched me for a few moments, probably to make sure that I had a good hold on Edward. He then proceeded to help Edward change. After he got his coat, his shirt and shoes off, John helped Edward into bed and pulled the blankets over him.

"Thank you... John and... ma'am," Edward mumbled as John stood up again.

"It's okay, just get some sleep, and we'll see you in the morning." He told him, and Edward nodded before he rolled over onto his side and closed his eyes. I watched as John stepped back and turned to look at me. "Thank you again."

I smiled and I nodded, "It's okay, it's the least I can do." Wait, _d__id I really just say that?_ I thought and blushed when I saw John raise an eyebrow. He nodded before he changed the subject.

"So. You probably want to shower and change, get that cut cleaned up, have some food and get to bed, right?" He asked me. When I nodded my head, he continued on with speaking. "Come on then."

He turned around and walked out of the room. I followed him and as I walked out of the bedroom, I closed the door behind me. As I caught up to John, my heels were clicking against the wooden floor. I found the sound annoying, and my feet hurt so I stopped walking and took my heels off. As soon as my feet touched the cold floor, a shiver ran down my body. After I picked my shoes up, I ran off to catch up with John. I stopped running, and we walked in silence and walked in step with each other.

As we reached the front door, Hamilton emerged from Jack's bedroom. He said his good night and showed us out. Being a gentleman, John motioned for me to walk out first. As I passed him, I sent him a smile. I stopped walking as soon as I was standing in the hallway and turned around to face John. The carpet of the hallway felt soft against my sore feet. After John stepped out of the apartment, he turned around to look at Hamilton, who smiled before he closed the door. When the lock clicked, John turned to me and stared at me for a few minutes. I stood there, watching as John shook his head and looked into my eyes.

"Come on", he said, and he turned and walked away. He led me to the door of the apartment he was staying in. I stayed silent as he fished the keys out of his pocket and pushed the right key into the lock. It unlocked, and John pushed the door open. John stepped in first this time and switched on the light. He held the door open for me as I entered the apartment. Once I was inside, the door was closed, and I heard the lock click. John walked past me and headed to the lounges. He dropped the keys on the coffee table before he shrugged out of his coat and laid it on the lounge. As he did that, I looked around the apartment. It was luxury and spacious, too big for one person.

"There is only one bedroom, which is mine, but you're welcome to have it, if you like. I'm happy to sleep on the lounge if you want to sleep in a bed tonight", he told me.

I stopped looking around the lounge room and looked at John. I shook my head and said, "Oh no, I can't take your bed. You have done more than enough for me. I'm happy to sleep on the lounge. Thank you though."

"Well, the offer is still open if you change your mind." John replied and smiled. I returned the smile. "Okay, well I'll show you around, and then you can have a shower and change."

I nodded, and then he showed me around the apartment. The apartment had beautiful, high-quality wood flooring in certain rooms, while the common areas had beige marble flooring. The apartment had very high ceilings. The walls of the apartment were white. Each room has double glazed windows to provide comfort and quietness.

As you enter the apartment, you find yourself in a foyer corridor that leads to the different areas of the apartment. Directly, in front of the entrance was the lounge room. To the left was a long hallway leading to the dine-in kitchen and the master bedroom.

The living room consisted of a leather couch, a club chair, two smaller arm chairs, and a coffee table. It has a wrought-iron frame and a glass top. Around the room are older antique pieces such as a 19th century chest of drawers and an elegant console table between the windows. The modern like fireplace was the focal point of the room. The art work was contemporary and softly tied in with the various styles present in the decorating.

The spacious master bedroom has a King-sized bed and bedside tables with soft light lamps. There was a huge antique chest of drawers for organising your personal affairs as well as large closets. Two charming 18th century caned chairs accompanied the chest of drawers. The master bathroom was painted a warm red and consisted of a large sink, mirror, toilet, a tub and a shower.

The spacious and fully equipped kitchen was next to the long hallway filled with cupboards and closets for storing your luggage, coats, etc. The kitchen was up-to-date and split into two parts. Firstly, a vast in-kitchen dining area complete with a table perfect for an elegant dinner for four to six guests. The back wall of the room was equipped with a large electric oven. There was ample space for food preparation with everything you should need for hosting a dinner.

After John finished showing me the apartment, we went back to the bathroom. He pulled the towel from the rack next to the shower and gave it to me.

"Here's your towel and I'll leave you a change of clothes on the bed. Now, I'll leave you to have a shower in peace. I'll be in the lounge room, call out if you need anything, okay?" He told me, and I nodded.

"Thank you, John," I said, quietly, and he smiled at me before he turned and exited the bathroom. He closed the door behind him in the process.

As I stripped out of the dress, I was wearing, the slip underneath it, and my panty briefs, pain ripped throughout my entire body, and I screamed. I couldn't help but scream. The pain was unbearable. I doubled over, and my hands gripped my knees. I took three deep breaths to calm myself down. As the pain subsided to a little, I took the opportunity to stand up to my full height. I looked in the mirror for the first time tonight. I gasped as I looked at the damage that my own husband caused. I had a black eye, a large bruise on the bridge of my nose and a bruise on my chin. My eyes moved to the cut on my left cheek. The cut was medium in size and looked pretty deep as well. I would need stitches. My eyes went down to the rest of my body and took in the bruises and small cuts that covered my skin.

_That bastard._

And that's all I could say.

* * *

_Reviews are loved and constructive criticism is welcome. Thank you for taking the time to read this. I hope you enjoyed it._

_Next chapter will be up soon._

_Love Bree,_

_x._


	5. Chapter 05

_Title: John Dillinger, My Saviour. _

_Author: Juuuuuustpeachy._

_Rated: M. _

_Warnings: Violence, language and mature content. _

_Disclaimer: Anything to do with the movie Public Enemies; the characters, the storyline, places belongs to Michael Mann, Ronan Bennett and Ann Biderman. I only own my characters and a few pit stops along the way in the plot. I make no my money from this. _

_Summary: Rachel McAdams is now homeless. She's sitting outside a pub, bloody, cut, bruised and crying. After a successful bank robbery, John Dillinger and his gang go to Chicago to celebrate. When they leave a pub, John and three other men are the only sober ones left out of the eight of them. The four of them get their friends into the two cars, John turns and sees Rachel. He approaches her. After finding out her name and some of the reason why she is sitting out in the street, he tells her that she's welcome to stay with him and his friends. What will happen now? And how will Rachel cope with it?_

_Authors Notes: This chapter is in Rachels point of view. I'd like to thank those who reviewed, and anyone who has added this story to their alerts and favourites. __Anyways, that's enough talking. I hope you like it. _

_Love Bree._

* * *

Chapter 05.  
I walked over to the shower and swung the shower door open. Bending a little, and even that caused a little pain, I twirled the knobs of the water. I fiddled with the hot and cold taps until I was satisfied with the water temperature. I stepped into the shower and got under the water. I cried out in pain as the water ran over the open cut on my face and to the many cuts over my body. During the very needed to shower, I cleaned my body the best I could. I managed to get all the blood off my skin and not only that, I managed to get the feeling of him off my skin too. I may have cleaned him off my skin but unfortunately, the memories will always be there stuck in my mind, plaguing my thoughts and dreams.

I stood under the water for a few more minutes, just enjoying it before I turned the water off and pushed the shower door open. I stepped out of the shower and grabbed a towel from the towel-rail next to the shower. I dried my hair first before I went and dried my body. After I was dry, I got into my panty briefs. I was surprised that they weren't ripped. _He had practically tore them off me._ I shivered at the haunting thought and goose bumps formed on my skin.

I wrapped the large fluffy towel around my petite body and stepped towards the door, reaching out to open the door. I entered the bedroom and found a shirt and a pair of long sleep pants lying on the bed just like John had told me. I picked up the sleep pants and chuckled. They looked a little big for my tiny frame, but they'd have to do for a few days. Not that I'm complaining. I dropped the towel from my body and proceeded to get dressed in the clothes John gave me. After I was dressed, I carefully and slowly bent down to pick up the wet towel from the floor and stood up before I walked into the bathroom again to return the towel. After I hung the towel back up, I turned around and my eyes fell to the floor. There on the floor was the red knee-length dress. The exact one I was wearing tonight. While I was stripping from my clothes for the shower, I had thrown the dress to the tiled floor carelessly. I walked over to it and hissed in pain as I bent over to grasp it. I stood up slowly and held it up in front of me, my eyes scanning over my once favourite dress. I couldn't wear it, not anymore, and if I did, I'd be reminded of what happened tonight. I didn't want it anymore.

I sighed and I left the dress folded neatly on the basin, and exited the bathroom. I walked through the spacious master bedroom and opened the door. I stepped out and turned towards the lounge room. My eyes fell on John, who was sprawled out across the leather lounge. He heard me and he sat up. His eyes fell on me. His dark eyes followed my every movement as I slowly walked over to John. I was limping and I knew that John noticed it too. Although, I was thankful that he didn't say anything. I didn't want to talk about what happened tonight. Not tonight, not ever. However, if I knew if I didn't talk about it, it'd drive me crazy. It would. I lightly shook my head and joined John on the lounge. I looked over at him.

"Is it okay if I go ahead and clean that cut on your face?" John asked, and a sigh escaped my lips.

"Yes," I nodded.

He smiled sadly at me before he got up and made his way down the hallway and into the kitchen. He entered the lounge room a few minutes later with his arms full of the things he needed so he could do this. He walked around the lounge, now in the view of me. I watched at him as he placed everything on the coffee table in front of him before he sat down beside me again.

"Okay, for me to clean this cut, I have to clean use soap and water, then I'll have to use the alcohol," He told me, and my expression changed. I was pained about this. This whole process was going to hurt like a bitch, and I knew it. However, this needed to be done. I nodded my head at him. "I'll go as fast as I can, okay?"

"It's okay," I said.

I grabbed a towel, and dipped a corner of it into the bowl of warm water and liquid soap, and moved my hand up to her cheek. I carefully washed the cut. As I was doing this, the cut started bleeding again. Then, it dawned upon me, that she was going to need stitches.

John grabbed a towel, and dipped a corner of it into the bowl of warm water and liquid soap, and moved his hand up to my cheek. He carefully washed the cut. As he was doing this, the cut started bleeding again. I was going to need stitches.

"Now, this part is going to hurt," he warned me as he grabbed the bottle of alcohol from the coffee table. This was going to hurt. A lot. I knew it. He looked up at me with the bottle in his hand. "Rachel?"

"I'm okay! Let's just get this over and done with!" I said and John smiled at me, probably at my eagerness to get this done. I braced myself as he dabbed a cotton ball with the alcohol before moving his hand up to the cut again. As soon as it came into contact with the cut, I moaned in pain before I bit the sound off.

"Sorry," he apologised after a few moments, and I opened my eyes. I met his eyes, and he stopped what he was doing as we stared each other for a moment before he brought his attention back to the scene at hand.

"It's okay. It has to be done," I answered as he threw the cotton ball on the coffee table.

"Okay, the best way for this cut to heal is to stitch it up." He told me. Oh that's just great. Perfect... I thought sarcastically. "Is that okay?" He asked.

I nodded before I replied, "Do whatever you need to do."

I watched as he dug through the kit until he found the sutures. He went into the bathroom and washed his hands. My eyes were closed again when I heard him enter the room again.

"Rachel?" His voice came closer, and I could hear his footsteps come closer. They stopped, and I felt his presence beside me, much like earlier tonight.

"I'm okay, John," I replied as I opened my eyes and looked up at John. He stood before me, looking down at me with a concerned look on his face. I smiled reassuringly at John, who returned a smile. He sat down beside me. I watched as he opened the sterile suture package. As he held the needle over my cheek, the nervousness washed over me. Oh God, I hated needles. I absolutely hated them.

Both John and myself took a deep before John carefully pushed the needle through my skin. I gritted my teeth, and I was positively sure John could hear them grinding together. He ran the needle through the other side of the cut and very carefully pulled it tight. I closed my eyes as he tied it off and grabbed the scissors to cut the thread. I kept my eyes closed as he continued to stitch it up. I counted the stitches in my mind.

One stitch. Two stitches. Three stitches.

He kept going until the cut was closed. He dropped his hand, and I opened my eyes. John was leaning back, taking a look at what he had done. He grabbed a towel and cleaned the blood away before he grabbed a sterile pad from the coffee table. He held it over the freshly done stitches.

"Can you hold that?" He asked me.

I nodded before I reached up to hold the sterile pad in place over his hand. Our hands touched, and a strange feeling of electricity ran throughout my whole body. It ran from my fingers, up my arms, and it went straight down my body. _What the hell was that?_ I thought. I wondered if he felt it as well. He removed his hand and lightly shook his head before he started to clean up the mess on the coffee table.

"Thank you, John," I said suddenly. I couldn't stop my mouth.

He stopped what he was doing and looked at me. "I mean it, John. I was just a stranger to you yet you still came over to me and asked if I was okay. You then told me that I was welcome to stay with you and your friends. You've allowed me in your home... well your home for the time being, you've let me use your shower, you've cleaned my cut up, and you're giving me a bed to sleep in. That's more than I could ever ask for, thank you. I am so grateful of you."

"Rachel, it's fine. You don't have to thank me, although, I am flattered by your words," he replied.

"I do have to thank you. You've done so much for me, and you don't even know me." I answered, and I heard him sigh.

"Okay, fine. I'll just say it's fine every time," John grinned, and I poked my tongue out at him. John gasped in mock surprise as I tried to suppress my giggles, but ended up bursting into laughter. My laugh was obviously contagious because it caused John to start laughing as well.

We were still laughing a couple of minutes later. John stopped laughing and took a deep breath to calm himself down. He looked at me. "Hey Rachel, I just want you to know that I'm here if you want to talk about anything."

I instantly stopped laughing and looked down at my lap for a few moments. I looked up at him again, "Thank you."

He nodded twice before he changed the subject, "So. Have you changed your mind about sleeping in the bed tonight 'cause I'm happy to sleep on the lounge if you want the bed."

"The lounge is just fine. Thank you," I replied and smiled softly.

"Okay then, after I clean up here, I'll go and get you, some blankets and a pillow so you can get to sleep," John said and stood up from the lounge.

"Do you want some help?" I asked, ready to get up if he said yes to my question.

He looked at me and shook his head before he answered, "It's fine. You just sit there."

I shrugged my shoulders and leaned back against the lounge as a grin tugged at my bruised lips, "Alright then."

A grin appeared on his lips before he started to clean up. I watched as he grabbed the scissors, the alcohol, the bowl of warm soapy water, and the first-aid kit and skillfully carried them all back to the kitchen.

When he walked into the lounge five minutes later, I was still in the same spot on the lounge. He walked around the lounge and picked up the towel from the floor and grabbed the other towels from the coffee table. My eyes followed his every move as he made his way out of the lounge room and into his bedroom. A few minutes later, he returned with the white comforter and a pillow.

"Here, these are for you," he told me as he walked over to me. As John stopped beside me, I stood up from the lounge. I grabbed the pillow first and threw it on the lounge before I took the comforter out of my hands. I threw it messily on the lounge before I turned to him again.

"Why thank you, you kind sir," I replied and smiled at him. He let out a laugh.

"You're welcome, Rachel," he responded. "I'm going to go to hit the hay."

"Okay, John. I'll see you in morning," I replied.

"Also, don't be afraid to come and wake me up if you need anything during the night," John told her, and I nodded.

I leaned up on my tippy toes and pressed my lips to his cheek for a peck. When I backed away from him, I saw his facial expression. He was surprised. "Good night John."

"Night," he replied after I had looked away from him. My attention was now on my makeshift bed for the next couple of days. As I was fixing my bed, I watched him on the corner of my eye. He stared at me for a few moments before he turned on his heel and walked away. His footsteps were soft, graceful.

A few moments later, I turned my head in time to see the door close, and I sighed before went back to fixing my bed. Once I was satisfied with my bed, I walked out of the lounge room and made my way down the hallway to the light switch. Switching the light off, the darkness enveloped me. The whole apartment was pitch black except the distant light escaping through the door of John's room. I navigated my way down the hallway through the darkness. When I reached the door with the light escaping underneath it, I stopped and looked at the door for a few moments. I shook my head. What am I doing? I thought before I shook my head again. I turned and slowly entered the lounge room, careful of anything that may be in my way. I had my arms up in front of me to feel anything, in case I was to run into it. The last thing I wanted was to run into something and make a loud noise and wake John. I made it to the leather lounge without running into anything or making a sound. After I got underneath the white comforter, I settled back and got comfortable.

I didn't fall asleep straight away and why was that? My thoughts were racing. I couldn't control them. They were repeatedly bouncing back and forth from Thomas to John. I almost growled; I just wanted to sleep. Not think. I rubbed my eyes before I rolled over and closed my eyes. It was a couple of minutes later when I actually fell asleep.

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_So, like it? Hate it? Please tell me in a review. I'd love to know what you think. Constructive criticism is welcome. Thank you for reading._

_Bree,_

_x._


	6. Chapter 06

_Title: John Dillinger, My Saviour. _

_Author: Juuuuuustpeachy._

_Rated: M. _

_Warnings: Violence, language and mature content. _

_Disclaimer: Anything to do with the movie Public Enemies; the characters, the storyline, places belongs to Michael Mann, Ronan Bennett and Ann Biderman. I only own my characters and a few pit stops along the way in the plot. I make no my money from this. _

_Summary: Rachel McAdams is now homeless. She's sitting outside a pub, bloody, cut, bruised and crying. After a successful bank robbery, John Dillinger and his gang go to Chicago to celebrate. When they leave a pub, John and three other men are the only sober ones left out of the eight of them. The four of them get their friends into the two cars, John turns and sees Rachel. He approaches her. After finding out her name and some of the reason why she is sitting out in the street, he tells her that she's welcome to stay with him and his friends. What will happen now? And how will Rachel cope with it?_

_Authors Notes: This chapter is in Rachels point of view. I'd like to thank those who reviewed, and anyone who has added this story to their alerts and favourites. __Anyways, that's enough talking. I hope you like it. _

_Love Bree._

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Chapter 06.  
I woke up at some time the next morning, and I rolled onto my back and stared up at the ceiling. It was unfamiliar. It was something I wasn't used to staring at when I first woke up in the morning. Then, it dawned on me. I wasn't at home, in my bed. I was somewhere completely different. I was in John Dillinger's apartment. The events from last night came rushing back. It flooded my mind, and an uneasy feeling washed over the contents in the pit of my stomach, and I soon found myself rushing to John's bedroom. I tried to be as quiet as I could and quickly opened the door to his bedroom. I did feel bad. But would he rather me throw up all over the leather lounge and his nice wooden floor? Probably not.

I ran into the bathroom and closed the door before I rushed over to the toilet just in time to throw up. My limbs were shaking and I was breathing heavy. I settled back against the bathroom wall with my legs stretched out in front of me. I stayed like that until I was sure that my stomach was settled, and that I wasn't going to throw up again.

I wasn't surprised when I heard a soft knock on the bathroom door. I knew it would be John.

"Come in," my voice was hoarse. The door opened, and lo and behold; I was right. But really, who else could it be? John entered the bathroom, and he knelt down beside me. Slowly, I looked over at him, and I could see the concern in his facial expression.

"You feelin' okay?" He asked me. The concern in his voice matched the expression on his face.

I ignored his question by asking him, "Did I wake you?"

"Sort of, but it's okay," he replied. "Now, answer my question, are you feelin' okay?"

Another uneasy feeling washed over my stomach again and I knew I was going to go to have another round with the toilet. Why was this happening? All I was doing was wondering why I wasn't at home, in my bed and then everything that happened last night came rushing back. Soon an uneasy feeling washed over the contents in the pit of my stomach and well...here I was. My thoughts halted as I felt a hand touch my back.

I had another round with the toilet; this time was worse than before, and John rubbed my back in a soothing matter.

"Now I am," I told him as I closed the toilet lid and flushed the toilet. "I'm sorry. I didn't mean to wake you. I tried to be as quiet as I could. I didn't want you to hear me."

I walked over to the basin and turned the taps on. I splashed my face with cold water and rinsed out my mouth. No words could explain how embarrassed I felt right now. I didn't want John to hear me. Like I said to John, I tried to be as quiet as I could, but it was a little hard when I was driving the porcelain bus.

"Rachel, you don't have to apologise. It is fine," He said as I finished up cleaning myself up. I turned to him, and he smiled reassuringly at me before he grabbed my hand and led me out of the bathroom. I couldn't help but think about how my hand felt in his. Wait, there was no time to think like this. I couldn't think like this. John Dillinger will always be the man who allowed me into his home, let me shower and gave me a bed to sleep in. He will never be more than my saviour and for some unknown reason, I felt sad about that. My thoughts were halted when I was pushed down onto the lounge by John. He let go of my hand and stared down at me. I felt anxious under his stare. Finally, he broke the silence.

"Do you want anything to drink?" He asked.

"Water, please," I replied, and he nodded at me before he left the lounge room. It was a five minutes later when he returned to the lounge room with a glass of water for me and something for himself. I watched as he walked towards me. He held out the glass to me, and I thanked him before I took it from him. He nodded and took a seat on the lounge beside me as I brought the glass up to my lips and took a small sip. The water ran down my throat, cooling my insides. I felt more at ease now. I felt better. I placed the glass on the coffee table in front of me and looked at the man beside me.

"I am sure you want to know what happened last night, before you found me outside the club," I said. John was silent for a few minutes. He took a sip of his hot tea before he looked at me again and nodded.

"Yes I would," he said. "But I only want to know if you're ready to tell me."

"I want to, and I need to. Otherwise, if I don't talk about it, I will go crazy," I replied, and John nodded. He remained silent as I took a deep breath before I told John my story. He sat there and remained silent while I told him everything. I didn't keep anything hidden from him. I told everything that happened up to the moment where he came over to me. I told him about my husband's change.

"Was last night the first time he...forced you?" He asked me.

"Yes," I nodded. "Before he just yelled at me and abuse me, but he never went as far as rape."

"How could _your own husband_ do that?" John asked. His voice got louder by the second, and I sank back, slightly scared. He noticed this and quickly apologised for yelling. I accepted his apology. He took a deep breath to calm himself down before he spoke again. "It's just...I could not at any time do that to a woman. I could never abuse a woman. I can't even bring myself to raise my voice at one. I just can't. I know how it feels like to be yelled at. I know how it feels to be abused. I was abused as an adolescent. I was very young when my mama died and after that, my childhood was ruined further as my daddy beat me because he had no better way to raise me."

At first, I was shocked; shocked that he would tell me something like that, something _so_personal.

I didn't get a chance to reply as there was a knock at the front door.

"I'll be right back," he told me, and I nodded. I watched as he got up from his seat beside me and left the room. I heard the front door open, and I could hear him talking to whoever it was. I strained my ears, and I worked out that John was talking to another male. It was wrong to eavesdrop on them, but curiosity got the best of me.

"Come on in guys," I heard John say. Guys? Were there more than one? Oh, why does it matter? I'm sure I'll find out soon enough. The door was shut, and I could hear their footsteps walking down the hallway. I could hear two sets of clicking heels on the wooden floorboards. So it was a man and two women? John walked into the lounge room and following behind him, were three people. I was right. It was one man and two women. I recognised the man to be Harry Pierpont, but I didn't know the women. The two women were complete opposites, but they were both very beautiful. One was tall while the other was short. The taller woman had shoulder-length brown hair, which was done in loose curls and had piercing green eyes while the shorter woman had curly black hair that fell past her breasts and had pale blue eyes.

"Hey Rachel," Harry Pierpont said as I stood up from my seat and walked over to them. I stopped beside Harry, and he smiled down at me.

"Good morning Harry," I replied and returned the smile.

"Who is she?" The brown-haired woman asked John. I looked away from Harry to see this woman looking up and down at me. There was a tone of disapproval in her voice. The brown-haired woman was clearly not pleased that I was here, and wearing John's shirt and long sleep pants didn't help the situation either. "Some whore you brought home from the club last night?"

The word _whore_ reminded me of the events from last night, telling me that it was still there in my mind. No matter how hard I tried to bury it, it was always going to be there. Constantly reminding me, haunting me.

"Billie, stop," John told the woman. So Billie was her name. I'll give her a piece of my mind. I stepped towards her and to my disadvantage, I was much shorter than her.

"Who do you think you are?" I found my voice. The word whore struck something within me. It sparked my anger. Once I started, I couldn't stop. "First of all, I'm not a whore. You don't even know me enough to call me that! Maybe you should get to know the person before you start throwing harsh words at them."

My voice rose as I talked. I was always the one to speak my mind, to stand up for myself but that was before my husband changed, before he became that...that monster.

"Ladies, let's just stop and calm down, yeah?" John stepped in between us and tried to defuse the situation before it got out of hand. I couldn't blame him though, but she started it. I was only defending myself. Was that a problem?

My thoughts were cut short when I saw the woman with curly black hair, and pale blue eyes step towards me. I looked at her and saw a nice smile on her lips. "My name is Alice; I'm Pete's girlfriend."

"I'm Rachel. It's nice to meet you," I said, and I returned the smile at her.

"It's nice to meet you too, Rachel. Now how do you know John and Pete?" She asked me. Wow, she doesn't waste time in getting to the questions, does she? "If you don't mind me asking."

"No, not at all," I replied.

"Why don't we sit down and have this chat?" John suggested and shot a look at me. I nodded at him, and Alice grabbed my hand. John and Pete shared a laugh as Alice pulled me with her to the lounge.

She sat down and pulled me down with her. Alice and I both shared a laugh together. I could see that a friendship was forming already. She was nice, really nice. Pete was really lucky to have someone like her. Much to Billie's dismay, John sat beside me. What the hell is her problem? I wondered. She glared at me for a few moments before she sat down in the club chair. I haven't done anything to her. I don't even know her. I chose to ignore her. I waited for Pete to sit down before I started.

"Well, instead of me going into the detailed version of the story, I'll just say this. Long story short, my husband sexually assaulted me and abused me. Once he was...finished with me, he pretty much kicked me out of the house after that. So I walked and walked, until I was in down town. I stopped in front of a club to take a breather. I leaned against the wall of the club and slid down it. I stretched my legs out in front of me. I buried my head in my hands and finally let out the tears. As the night moved along slowly, I stayed in front of the club. I was just too tired, too sore to move. It wasn't long until John walked over to me and asked me if I was okay." I told everyone.

"After I found out her name and some of the reason why she was sitting out in the street bruised and crying, I told her that she was welcome to stay with me." John added in.

"Yeah and well, here I am." I said.

"Taking in strays, are you John? It seems a little risky, if you ask me. I mean with who you are and anything. It's not safe for anyone," Billie said, and I resisted the urge to get up and slap that pretty face of hers. I so wanted to, but I managed, barely may I add, to ignore her.

John, on the other hand, didn't. He looked at her, "I didn't ask for your opinion, Billie." He emphasised the word your. "I saw her sitting against the wall and in the state she was in, I knew I couldn't leave her there."

I was shocked that he stood up for me.

"Yeah, I have to agree with John," Alice added in, and I looked over at her, and she continued,"But that's horrible that you had to go through that. I can't believe that your own husband did that. If I ever found out where he lived, I'd go over there and show him a piece of my mind. No one deserves to go through what you went through."

I nodded slowly, in a awkward matter. Pete saw this and changed the subject. He asked me, "So, how long will you be with us, Rachel?"

"I don't know until I find a job and a place, I guess. God knows how long that will take," I replied.

"Well, why don't you stay with us?" Pete threw the idea around.

"Well I am, until I find a job and a place," I said, confused.

"I don't mean it like that. I mean, stay with us, like stay with us. You don't leave us when you find a job and a place. You can travel and run from the G-Men with us," He explained, and I looked at him like he had grown a second head.

"What?" I asked.

"Yeah, what?" Billie asked. She didn't even bother to hide the fact that she didn't like the idea of me travelling with John and the gang.

"Don't what me, I know you can understand me," Pete started, and I smiled at that. "Listen Rachel, it's obviously not up to me, but I definitely want you to stay. I barely know you yet I already like your company. I can definitely tell Alice likes you, and I have known John long enough to know that he also likes your company. I can actually see all of us getting close."

I looked down at my lap as I felt my cheeks heat up at the comment of John liking my company. Did John really like my company? I asked myself. I looked up from my lap and said, "Uh... I don't know. It's up to John, I guess."

"Hey, it's not just my decision. It's yours as well," he replied. "Do you want to travel with us?"

I remained silent and thought about it long and hard. Did I really want to? It's not like I have a life to go back to. I have no home, no bed, no job to keep the food on the table. In reality, I had nothing. I looked at John. "If I decide to stay with you, and I said if, what will I do while you're out doing bank robberies and such?"

He opened his mouth to reply but was cut off by Alice.

"Oh I have the answer to that." Alice piped up from beside me. I moved my eyes from John and looked at her. "If you decide to stay with us, you can spend the time with me. I will travel with Pete and the gang if you join us. It does suck when you're the only woman there with a group of men."

"But what about-" I was cut off.

"Billie?" She finished for me, and I nodded. "She doesn't travel with us. She stays here in Chicago."

It would explain why Billie wasn't thrilled for me to travel with the gang while she was stuck here in Chicago. It then dawned on me that she has a thing for John. I can't blame her though. He was attractive with brown hair, deep chocolate brown eyes and tan skin. He had flawless cheekbones, almost feminine lips and a perfect chin. Everything perfect, proportional, beautiful. John wasn't a large man. He was skinny and not too muscular. And to add to it, John was the complete gentleman. He was very sweet and caring. After all, he was the one that brought me to his apartment, the one who allowed to me shower and to get cleaned up, the one who has given me a bed to sleep in. If he was really like the public thought he was, he wouldn't have done those things for me.

_Simple as that._

"But either way, it's your choice," John's voice brought me out of my thoughts. How long was I away with the fairies? I lightly shook my head and looked at John. What did he say again?

"Well, if all of you are happy with it, I would love to join you," I said and as Alice let out a deafening scream, I cringed. I swore I just went deaf in one ear. She threw her arms around my shoulders and hugged me. I laughed as I wrapped my arms around Alice's middle and returned the hug. When we broke the contact, I turned and looked at John. I was aware of Billie's eyes on us, and I felt a glare cast on me. I tried my best to ignore it.

"I hope you don't mind," I told him.

"Not at all. If I did mind, I wouldn't have said it was okay, now would I?" He grinned cheekily at me, and I rolled my eyes at him.

"But still," I said.

"It's fine, seriously. Stop worrying," he replied, and I nodded my head. He was right. I needed to stop worrying. He said it was fine for me to travel with him and his gang.

Even though, I may have been deaf in one ear from that deafening scream that Alice let out before, I could still hear perfectly with my other ear. I couldn't mistake the string of profanities that Billie mumbled under her breath.

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_So, like it? Hate it? Please tell me in a review. I'd love to know what you think. Constructive criticism is welcome. Thank you for reading._

_Bree,_

_x._


	7. Chapter 07

_I am so sorry for not updating. Life has seriously gotten busy for me. I have a job now, so I don't have a lot of time to write. I'm sorry about that. I am trying though. I have short hours at the moment, but when I get home, I just crash. Anyways, this chapter is in Rachel's point of view like always. I'd like to thank those who reviewed, and anyone who has added this story to their alerts and favourites. Oooh, and also, if you haven't, check out my latest story "On A Mission". It's another Public Enemies fanfiction. _

_It's a long chapter, and it might be a little boring, so I'm sorry for that. I can promise you that the next chapter will have drama in it. Anyways, I hope you like this chapter. Slight cliffhanger at the end... Sorry._

_Love Bree, _

_x. _

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Playlist for this chapter: A hell a lot of Evanescence!

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Chapter Seven.  
As the day slowly rolled onto noon, we were still in the apartment, and Alice, John, Harry and I hadn't moved an inch from the lounge. We would only move from the lounge if someone needed to use the bathroom or make a trip to the kitchen to get drinks for everyone, but other than that, we didn't move. It was as if we were glued to the comfy leather lounge.

I was still sitting in between John and Alice. Harry, or as he likes to be called Pete, was still sitting in one of the two arm chairs. And what about Billie? Well, she left an hour and a half ago. It was apparently "too boring" for her, but that wasn't the real reason for why she left. I knew the reason, well actually, _everyone_ did. It was because of the conversations we were having. Most of the time, John, Alice and Pete were busy asking me questions about myself. When they weren't asking me questions, they were telling me the adventures that they and the gang got up to. It was exciting to hear about it all because soon enough, I would be travelling with them. A feeling of excitement washed over me as I thought about the upcoming events I was about to experience. Once we started our travels again, I would be apart of these adventures, these memories, and you know what, I honestly couldn't wait.

An hour after Billie had left, Alice came up with an idea to go to a pub for dinner and drinks as a celebration of some sort._ "For me joining them" _as I remember Alice saying, and both Pete and John were happy to agree with Alice's suggestion. John had said he would tell the others when they awoke from their slumber. While they were excited about going out to celebrate for me joining them, I honestly didn't understand why they had to. Now, don't get me wrong, I was excited to forget what has happened and start a new chapter of my life with these people. There was this other emotion that bubbled at the pit of my stomach – nervousness. I was nervous to meet the rest of John's gang. If I was going to be travelling with them, I have to do it some time, and deep down, I knew that. But_ what if they didn't like me?_ A lot of questions that had 'what_ if'_ beginning them ran through my head, and I could feel a headache coming on. I closed my eyes and took three deep breaths. My deep breaths and closed eyes went unnoticed by the three people around me as they continued on with a conversation I had removed myself from.

"Hey Rachel, since we're going for dinner later, we still got heaps of time until then, and you don't have any clothes, do you wanna go with Alice and get some?"

John's voice pulled me from my thoughts and I looked over at him with wide eyes. _Oh no._ I couldn't use his money to get clothes. Not even after he offered. I didn't like the idea – it reminded me of the past. I shook my head, and a frown appeared on his lips. I sighed. "John, I'm sorry, but I can't use your money."

"Please, Rachel? I would like you to use my money to buy clothes and whatever you will need", he said and gave me a look as if to say _I would give up if I was you, I'm going to win this._

I didn't say anything at first, I just stared at him. To say I didn't like people spending money on me or buying gifts for me would be an understatement. In fact, I hated it. I grew to feel this way because of my such _loving, caring_ husband. Oh, what a joke that was. After a afternoon and evening full with abuse, Thomas would come home the next day with gifts to say sorry, and he would promise me that the abuse wouldn't happen again. And I could remember, he'd keep his promise; he wouldn't lay his hands upon me, or cut me deep with his words. Everything would be good again, but as soon as he had a horrible day at work, he'd come home and take it out on me. _Every single fucking time._

I felt bad comparing John to... _him_ because deep down, I knew that John would never lay his hands upon me or even think about saying the words my husband used to say to me, and I had to remind myself that. _Not all men were like my husband, and John was the complete opposite of... Thomas._

I shivered at _his_ name and pulled myself out of my thoughts again. I pushed all those thoughts to the side. Finally, I nodded at John, who smiled triumphantly back at me. I sighed at this. "Since I get the feeling you wouldn't have given up without a fight, and anyway, I don't want to fight with you, okay."

"You're right there, Rachel", John said with a laugh, and I faked a smile. I hoped to God that John didn't see right through it, and of course, he did. "Rachel, what's wrong?"

"Oh, it's nothing important", I said and shrugged my shoulders.

"You can tell us, Rachel. We're not going to judge you", Alice cut in, and John nodded in agreement.

I moved my gaze back and forth from John to Alice for a few moments before I looked away entirely. I stared in front of me. I felt the three pair of eyes on me, and I knew that I had their full attention. I nodded, not moving my eyes from the spot in front of me. "Yeah, I know that you guys won't judge."

John moved from his seat and crouched down in front of me, his head blocking my view to the spot I was staring at. I knew I would have to tell him. No matter what. Even though, I have only known him... well, for not even a day, and I knew that he won't stop asking questions until I gave in. I sighed and looked him dead in the eyes. I could see the concern clouding in those gorgeous dark brown eyes. "Come on, Rachel, tell us what's wrong."

"It's just... when you asked me if I wanted to go shopping with Alice to get some clothes, it reminded me of my husband. That's all. Every time after he would abuse me, he'd come home the next day and shower me in gifts and broken promises. Because of him and what he has done, I've grown to hate presents and have money spent on me." I voiced my problems.

"I won't ever do what your husband did to you, you do know that, right?" John asked, and he didn't give me the chance to answer to him as he continued to speak. "I'm hurt that you think that I would do that to you. I can't even raise my voice at a woman, let alone put them through what you've been through."

I saw the hurt in his eyes and this made me frown. _Oh John_, I thought as I watched him get up from his crouched position in front of me. He walked away and disappeared out of the lounge room and down the hallway. I hid my face in my hands. I knew of his past, I knew that he could never hurt a woman through pain, let alone, raise his voice at them. Slowly, I removed my hands from in front of my face and looked up. As I stared at nothing particular in front of me, I bit her bottom lip. I have to go talk to him, but what could I say that would make up for hurting him? That I was sorry? That I didn't mean to hurt him? _Well obviously._ But that just didn't seem enough.

"I'll be back", I announced to the others and got from my seat on the lounge. I exited the lounge room before the others could answer. I slowly made my way down the hallway. I entered the kitchen and saw him standing with his back against the counter. He was facing towards me. He had a glass of water clasped in his right hand and he was staring at nothing in particular, much like me just before. Suddenly, he looked up and his dark eyes fell on me. I stopped at the entry and he stared at me for a moments before he looked away again. I sighed and slowly made my way over to him. I stopped beside him and rested my hands on the bench in front of me.

"You are right, John. I'm sorry", I started and looked over at him. When he didn't look at me, I sighed again. I waited for a few moments so I could gather my thoughts into words before I opened my mouth and let the words flow out. "I know you would never do what my husband did to me, or to any other woman. It's just when you asked me if I wanted to go shopping with Alice to get some clothes, it reminded me of my husband, my old life. A part of my past I'm desperately trying to forget."

John didn't say a word as he took another sip of his water before he spun around to face the sink and tipped the rest of his drink down the sink. I watched in silence as he wordlessly washed his glass and placed it in the dish rack to dry. After it felt like an eternity, he finally turned towards me and spoke to me. In a quiet voice, he said, "Rachel, I should be the one that apologises."

At that, I turned her body towards him and looked at him sharply. "No, John, you don't. You're a great man, seriously. I don't know how many times I'm gonna say this, but I mean, you're the one that saw me in the street and came over and asked me if I was okay. You were the one that invited me into your home, allowed to get myself cleaned up 'cause I was a mess. Wait, I think mess would be an understatement." I paused when I heard a small chuckle escape from John's lips. I smiled slightly for a few moments before I went completely serious again. "No man like my husband would ever do what you have done for me already. The only thing they'd do is take advantage. I should know already that you would never do anything to hurt me, or any other woman. I am the one that should apologise. I am really sorry."

John turned his body towards me and looked deep in my eyes. "Rachel, I should have known that when you first said no that it would have had something to with the last chapter of your life. I'm sorry, I didn't think."

"John, it's okay, seriously", I replied.

"I want to promise you something", he said, and I froze. My face fell and my stomach dropped to the floor. Promises. They always got broken. _Always_. I knew that from past experience. "I promise that I will never do what your husband did to you, okay?"

That was the same promise my husband made numerous times. It wasn't the same words, but it in a round about way, it was for the same thing. Deep down, I knew that John would _keep _his promise.

"You promise?" I asked. It was childish, I knew that, but I didn't care. The promise, itself, wasn't stupid. That was far from stupid.

"I promise", John held out his pinky finger to me, a small smile spreading across his face. I, too, smiled, much bigger than him and brought my pinky up to his. I wrapped my pinky around his, and the promise was sealed. When I went to break the embrace, he stopped me. "Wait", I stopped and looked at him, questioningly. "Can you promise me something?"

"Yes", I nodded.

"Use my money so you can buy clothes and whatever you will need", he answered.

"Okay, I promise", I said, and he smiled triumphantly at me.

"Good. Now, come on, let's get back to Pete and Alice before they begin to think we're up to no good", John told me, and I nodded. I turned away from him. He let go of my pinky, only to grasp my hand. To say I was surprised at his move would be an understatement. I looked down at the ground to hide my red cheeks from the man beside her. I bit my bottom lip as a few butterflies wiggled through my stomach in a pleasant way.

We made our way back to the lounge room to Alice and Pete. John released me hand, and I almost frowned at the loss of contact. _What..._ She shook her head as he went and sat down next to Alice while I stood there at the end of the lounge.

Alice rose from her seat and joined my side. I looked at me. "Now that you two are good again, can we go now?" The excitement was evident her in voice.

_Oh dear God..._

"Yes", I nodded at her. "But I have a slight problem."

"Oh yeah and what's that?" Alice questioned.

"I don't have anything to wear to the shops, I only have these clothes that John has let me borrow for the moment." I told Alice. _Well that was a lie..._ I had that red dress, the same one I was wearing last night, but there was no way I was going to wear it ever again. Too many haunting memories were attached to that dress. I wanted to burn it and leave the remains in the woods somewhere. I made a mental reminder to take the dress with me when we left the city. I would burn it in the forest somewhere. I was serious. I didn't want to see that damn dress again.

"Oh that's okay, you can borrow something of mine until we get back. My clothes should fit you", Alice replied.

"It should fit? Alice, are you serious? You're tall, and me? Well, I'm short", I shot back only to be laughed at; Alice chuckled, and John and Pete let out loud howls of laughter. I huffed slightly and crossed her arms over my chest. That was then when they stopped their laughing. Alice turned to me and placed a hand on my shoulder.

"Oh, stop being a drama queen. Come on. Let's go to the apartment I'm sharing with Pete so I can find something for you to wear", Alice told me, and I released a long sigh and nodded as I uncrossed her arms. I looked at John again.

"When you find a dress that fits, come back here and I'll give some money, alright?" John looked at me, and I nodded in response.

"Come on, Rachel", Alice said and grabbed my hand. I let her pull me out of the lounge room, leaving the boys to themselves. Alice pulled me out the front door of the apartment, down the corridor and into the apartment she was sharing with Pete. While I was being walked to Alice and Pete's bedroom, I looked around and took in the details of the apartment. It was pretty much the same as mine and John's... Wait, could you call the apartment mine, too? _Yes? No? Maybe?_ I pushed those thoughts to the back of my mind as Alice led me into the bedroom and over to the wardrobe.

It took us at least forty-five minutes, it was dress after dress. Nothing grabbed my attention until Alice pulled out this beauty. I stared at it in awe. It was me. It was something I would wear. The dress had been crafted from a floral lace. It had a round neckline, sleeveless styling with bow details to the shoulders, a fitted bodice, a high, fitted waist with a wide waistband, soft pleating to the skirt and a tulle underlay. It was very pretty. Alice's voice brought me out of my trance, "Go on, Rachel, try it on."

"Really?" I asked, stupidly, and looked at the younger woman. _Oh dear God..._ I face-palmed, and Alice's light laughter filled the room as I looked down at the floor, my cheeks heating up.

"Yes, really", Alice replied, and I looked up, not caring if my cheeks were red. Alice laughed again. "Here. Take this." She held out the dress for me to take from her. I took from her with a large smile. Alice returned a large smile. "You go head and try it on, and I'll be back. I'm gonna get a drink. Would you like one?"

I nodded my head. My throat was dry. Looking through Alice's wardrobe and trying on dress after dress was tiring, and hard work. "Yes please."

When Alice left the bedroom, I proceeded to get out of the clothes John had let me borrow. Quickly, and without ripping the dress, I slipped into the garment and fastened the zip. I adjusted the dress so everything sat just right before I stepped towards the floor-length mirror which was located next to the wardrobe. I stared at myself.

"Rachel, you decent?" Alice's voice sounded from the bedroom door.

"Yeah, come on in." I yelled out. I watched Alice step into the room with two glasses of water clasped in her hands through the reflection of the mirror. Alice halted her movements and stopped dead in the middle of the door way, her mouth open and her eyes wide. I spun around, "What is it? Does the dress not suit me?"

Alice closed her mouth and shook her head. "No, it's not that, it's the complete opposite. You look stunning in it."

"Really? You think so?" I asked, a blush appearing on my cheeks as I played with the lacy fabric of the dress.

"Think so? I know so, Rachel. You really do like stunning in it", Alice told me and walked further into the room. She placed the two glasses of water on the wooden sideboard near the mirror and made her way over to me. "Now, let's get you some shoes, a coat, and hair and makeup done."

I stood there silently as Alice spoke to herself about what would and wouldn't go while searching for shoes. "Ah, there you are", Alice said mostly to herself, and I raised my eyebrow, curiously. I was curious to see what Alice had planned. My answer was revealed to me when Alice stood up and turned around to face me. In her hands were a pair of red pumps. My facial expression must have been unreadable because Alice said this, "I can guess what you're thinking, but trust me, please." I nodded at her. "Okay, good. Now, put these on, and I'll get you a nice coat."

She handed me the shoes, and I took a seat on the bed. I pulled on the shoes that Alice had handed to me. I buckled them up and stood up only to be handed a white coat. I shrugged it on without saying a word and stepped in front of the mirror again. What Alice had put together actually went together. _Yeah_. She gave me some jewellery to go with the outfit – red earrings and a red bracelet. Alice did nothing with my hair as it was naturally curly, and for makeup, Alice applied a light layer of concealer to hide the bruises around my eye, on the bridge of my nose and on my chin before she added mascara to my top eyelashes, and red lipstick to my full lips.

"So, what do you think?" Alice questioned as she stood beside to me. She was staring intently at me through the mirror. I smiled brightly at her through the mirror and I noticed that she looked relieved. I turned to her.

"I love it, Alice. Thank you for letting me borrow your clothes until I got some of my own", I answered, and she turned and pulled me into a tight hug. I wrapped my arms around her and returned the gesture. After a few moments, Alice broke the embrace and stepped back. I dropped my arms back to my side.

"It's okay, Rachel. You don't have to thank me", she smiled. "Now, come on, let's go see John and Pete." She grabbed my hand and pulled me out of the bedroom, down the hallway, out the front door of the apartment, down the corridor and to the apartment to where my saviour and Pete were. When we reached the apartment, that was when the nervousness washed over me. _John_. I couldn't help but wonder what John would think of me in this dress. _Wait!_ I couldn't wonder, but I did.

"It's just us!" Alice yelled out after she opened the front door. She walked in first and pulled me in behind her. As we made our way down the hallway, and all I could think was, _well...here goes nothing._

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_Reviews are loved and constructive criticism is welcome. Thank you for taking the time to read this._

_Next chapter will be up soon! _

_Love Bree,_


	8. Chapter 08

_I am so sorry for not updating. Life has seriously gotten busy for me. Got a job now, so I don't have a lot of time to write. I'm sorry about that. I am trying though. Anyways, this chapter is in Rachel's point of view like always. __This chapter might be a little boring, so I'm sorry for that. I'm aware that at the beginning of last chapter, I promised drama in this chapter, but it just didn't happen. Next chapter, I promise. Cross my heart. __Another cliffhanger at the end... Sorry._

_Just quickly, I would like to thank those who reviewed, and added this story to their alerts and favourites. It means a lot. A__nd also, if you haven't, check out my latest Public Enemies story "On A Mission". _

_I hope you like this chapter, please review when you finish reading. _

_Love Bree, _

_x. _

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Playlist for this chapter: A hell a lot of Evanescence, Linkin Park, Good Charlotte, Paramore, The Used, Panic! At the Disco! and The Killers. _These bands were on repeat, I swear. They give me inspiration and they __help me concentrate. ____Not even kidding._

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_Chapter 08._  
I felt self-conscious the moment I entered the lounge room with Alice. I was honestly glad that Billie wasn't here, I didn't know if I could handle anymore negative comments flowing out of that woman's mouth. Just thinking about _her_ made my blood run cold. I could see her face in my mind, and I could feel the anger start to bubble within my stomach. I had only met a while ago and I learnt that I already disliked the woman...very much.

I pushed all those thoughts to the back of my mind and ignored what was bubbling at the pit of my stomach as I stopped behind Alice. With Alice being much taller than me, I could safely hide myself behind the younger woman from the two men, one of them being my saviour. However, much to my dismay, Alice stepped to the side, and her move revealed me to the two men sitting on the lounge. "So guys, what do you think?"

My eyes went straight to the wooden floor and I started fiddling with the lacy fabric of the dress as I felt their eyes burning into me. I took a deep breath and closed my eyes for a second, and that somehow gave me a little bit of an confidence boast. Slowly, I looked up, and what I saw, made me flush with embarrassment. John's mouth was wide open and his eyes were popping out. Pete, who was sitting beside him, had the same facial expression glued to his face.

Alice and I couldn't help but share a laugh at the priceless sight.

Once John picked his mouth up from the floor, he stood up from his seat on the lounge and walked over to me. His eyes never left mine. It was the same for me, as well, I couldn't take my eyes off him. I swallowed the invisible lump in my throat as he stopped a few feet in front me. He stared down at me. "Wow, Rachel, you truly look stunning." He looked to Alice, "You did a great job, Alice." He moved his eyes back to me.

The blush on my cheeks deepened, and I knew it, I could feel it. It wasn't just because of my saviour's comment, it was also the fact of watching his dark eyes look over me, clouded with... something that looked like lust. _Wait! What? It couldn't be lust..._ could it? "Thank you", I managed to say, my voice was barely more than a whisper, but I knew that he could hear me crystal clear.

John's dark eyes met mine again, and I stared into his eyes. I was slowly getting lost in the depths of his dark brown eyes.

"I agree with John, Rachel, you do look stunning." Pete said from the lounge.

Pete's voice pulled me from my trance and brought me back to reality. I lightly shook my head before I tore my eyes away from John. I stepped a little to my left a little and looked around John. "Thank you, Pete." My voice was louder when I spoke to Pete. _Of course it was._

"I'll be right back", John announced before he disappeared. I could hear him rummaging around in his bedroom, only to reappear with his hands full of money. I didn't know exactly how much there was in his hands, but I knew it was a lot. I narrowed my eyes at him as he made his way over to me again. He stopped in front of me, this time, he was standing much closer. With his free hand, he reached down in between us and grabbed my hand. Upon opening my hand, he placed the money in my open hand. "Here, take this money with no arguments. Buy what you need, okay?"

I sighed, but nodded at the man I called my saviour. I wasn't going to argue with the _Public Enemy Number One_. It wasn't the smartest thing in the book, and I knew better. I closed my hand before I stepped back from the man in front of me, creating a space between us. John's hand fell back to his side. "Thank you, John. I mean it."

"It's okay, Rachel", he replied and also stepped back. "Now, go before you two run out of daylight. Have fun ladies."

"We'll see you two later", Alice told them before she grabbed a hold of my forearm and like the last couple of times, she pulled me out of the lounge room, out the front door of the apartment, down the corridor and down the stairs. Less than three minutes later, we were out of the complex and on the street. Alice smiled at me as I let go of my hand to link arms with me, "Come on, I know a few shops that has nice clothes, and the best bit, they're cheap."

I nodded. That was the big thing for me. I didn't want to spend too much money of John's even though he had mentioned that he was very much well off right at this current time. "Alright, let's go, then."

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It had been an hour since we begun our shopping expedition, and both of us had many bags already clasped in our hands. We went into various shops and each time we left a shop, we came out with a few more bags clasped in our hands. Alice was on a mission to find that _perfect_ dress for tonight's gathering, however, she hadn't had any luck finding that _perfect_ dress yet. However, for me, I was just getting the things I was desperate for. With me saying that, I meant dresses; both for day and night, a few pairs of shoes, some sleep clothes and undergarments.

As we walked down the busy street of Chicago, we passed this one shop, and Alice stopped walking, and because she had linked arms with me earlier, I was pulled back too. I let out a sound of surprise before I slipped my arm from my new friend and turned around. I looked at Alice with confusion clouding my eyes. Alice didn't look at me, though, she was too busy staring at the shop. _Why? _Realisation set in on Alice's face, and then, she looked at me. "Rachel, we _have_ to check out this shop. I was told by a friend of mine to do so. She said it has really nice dresses and the price was reasonable."

"Okay then", I nodded. Alice smiled at me before she walked around me and headed towards the store. I turned around as Alice disappeared into the shop. I stood there on the sidewalk and looked at the name of the boutique. _Peachy Keen_, was its name, and I let out a small laugh before I walked towards the door. Upon my entry, the bell jingled like the high keys on a piano, and the woman standing behind the counter stopped what she was doing and looked in my direction. I stepped further into the boutique, the heels my had borrowed from Alice clicked against the wooden floor. I smiled warmly at the woman, "Good morning."

She returned the warm smile before she said, "Good morning, ma'am."

I looked away from the woman and proceeded to take in my surroundings. The boutique was medium size, had deep purple walls and wooden floors, like mentioned before. There were racks of clothing one after another, a few were shirts, others were skirts and so on. This boutique had all type of clothing women. There was one long rack, just full of long dresses. It was located along the opposite wall of the counter, the same one the woman was standing behind of.

_I'll be staying away from the long dresses section,__ I_ thought. They make me look much shorter than I actually _was_. I almost laughed at my thoughts, but managed to stop it before it left my mouth. I decided to start at the front of the store and make my way to the back. As I walked around, I came across dresses and such I did really like and wanted to buy. Alice's friend was right, this place had really nice clothes and it was cheap. I made a mental note to get Alice to thank her friend for the suggestion.

I was searching through the rack of evening dresses when I came across this one particular dress. I pulled it off the rack and inspected it. The gown was beautiful. It had a short hemline, and it had a stunning statement embellishment detail on the bust over a delicate pleated top with sweetheart neckline. The cream chiffon skirt created a feminine feel, and the netted lining added volume. And, oh how I wanted it. _So damn much._ I checked the price tag and my eyes widened. It wasn't expensive, not at all, it was actually the opposite. Pretty reasonable, if you ask me.

The only problem I faced at this time was that I couldn't wear it... Not at the moment. The bruises from last night lingered on my skin. At this current time, they were dark purple, and they weren't going to disappear any time soon. Most of them were small, but there was others that were bigger, much bigger. The bigger ones were mostly located around my hips and the middle of my thighs, so there was no chance of Alice, or anyone for that matter, seeing those one.

I was too engrossed in my thoughts and staring at the dress that I didn't hear Alice approaching me. "Go and try it on."

I jumped at the sound of Alice's voice behind me and spun around, my free hand over my heart. My heart was beating hard. "Jesus, Alice, I didn't even hear you walking up."

"I gathered that, hence the reason why you jumped and now have your hand over your heart", Alice grinned at me, and I rolled my eyes in return. "Seriously, go try the dress on. Call out if you need anything. I'll be out here."

"Okay, I won't be long." I replied and walked off to the back of the store. I stepped into a dressing room stall and pulled the black curtain across behind me. I hung the dress on the hook provided in the stall before I stepped out of the heels and stripped out of the clothes Alice lent me. I got dressed into the dress and adjusted the dress so everything sat right before I looked in the mirror at my reflection. It fit perfectly and it worked with my curves and her small height. The dress fell just above my knees.

I stared at my arms. Hiding the bruises on my arms, I could get a jacket that matched the dress. _Yeah_. That was what I was going to do. I made a mental note to do so before I got out of the dress, leaving me in my undergarments. I put the dress back on its hanger and hung it on the hook provided in the dressing room. I got dressed back in the dress and coat before I stepped into the heels again. I pushed the curtain back and stepped out, the dress I had just tried on clasped in my hand. I walked out and saw Alice browsing through some dresses.

We looked a little bit longer before we made our way to the counter and paid for what we bought. We both thanked the woman and left the store.

"I can't wait to see you in that dress tonight. I can't wait to see John's reaction, actually", Alice admitted as we walked down the street.

I stopped walking and looked over at Alice who was all smiles. "What?"

"Oh, come on. You can't tell me that you haven't seen the way he looks at you. He feels something for you, I mean, I don't know exactly what it is, but there is something definitely there. Otherwise he wouldn't have stepped in when Billie was saying all that stuff... well he would have, but you know."

She had a point, but I chose not to dive into the subject, instead, I changed it. In the most normal voice I could do, I asked her, "So, what's the deal with Billie?"

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_Reviews are loved and constructive criticism is welcome. Thank you for taking the time to read this. I hope you enjoyed it._

_Next chapter will be up soon._

_Love Bree._


	9. Chapter 09

_Just quickly, I would like to thank linalove, BeYourOwnSuperHero-x, diaryofjane-x, dreaaaaaam-big, Yes. I'm a Zombie, my guest reviewer Charlotte, and my two other guest reviewers for taking the time to send me a review. Thank you! It means a lot to me, __I am glad you like the story so far. _

_**Disclaimer:** Anything to do with the 2009 film Public Enemies; the characters, the storyline, places belongs to Michael Mann, Ronan Bennett and Ann Biderman. I only own my character, Rachel, Thomas, Alice, and few other characters and a few pit stops along the way in the plot. I make no my money from this._

_Now, on with the chapter... It's a long chapter, I hope you like it! _

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Chapter 09.  
Alice was silent for the next few minutes, and I just waited patiently as we stood on the side of the busy Chicago street. We had moved off to the side so we weren't being a hassle to the people who had somewhere to be at that current time.

"You know", the younger woman started, her voice pulling my attention to her. Before Alice had spoken, I was stuck in the back of my mind, tangled up in the web of my thoughts. Ever since we left the apartment and ventured on with our shopping adventure, I wanted to ask Alice what I had asked, but I could not get the words out of my mouth. I could form the words mentality, but as soon as I opened my mouth to actually ask what was on my mind, they evaporated into nothing.

"I asked Pete the same thing a while back, he didn't dive in deep with his answer, and honestly, I didn't push him. He just told me that they were in a relationship a while back. It was good for the first four months, but then, it didn't go the way they wanted it to and it ended badly." She told me.

I was going to be honest, there was no point in lying about it, I didn't like the answer I got. Simple as that. It was a real kick in the stomach. The new piece of information I had just learnt made me quite feel different, and I didn't like it. I knew exactly what the feeling was, though, it was jealousy. It was bubbling at the pit of my stomach. As much as it hurt to think this, I knew that John Dillinger, the man who took me off the street and has given me everything to get back on to my own two feet, would never be nothing more than my savior.

I knew that I had to forget this whole conversation and just move on. I couldn't think like this, feel like this. If I didn't do what I knew I had to do, I'd go on with life with the words spoken by Alice, replaying over and over, all the time, and I'd eventually drive myself to the point of insanity. John would throw me to the loony bin, and I wouldn't be angry or upset with him. It would be my fault.

"And now that we've been in Chicago, she's all of a sudden appeared again. I have a feeling that she wants to get back with him, try to make it work this time. But, by the look of it, he doesn't want to."

Alice's soft voice pulled me from my thoughts yet again, but this time, it made me jump slightly. I looked at the other woman, my eyes narrowed ever-so-slightly. Don't worry, it was something I did when I was confused, and as you can tell, now was one of those moments. By the look of it, he doesn't want to. What did she mean when she said that? Why wouldn't John want to get back with Billie? Curiously, I asked, "And what makes you think that?"

"It's because of you", Alice replied.

"Me?" I repeated.

"Don't repeat me again, Rachel, I know you can understand me." She said, seriously, but then a joking smile graced her lips. In a much softer tone, she told me, "Yes, Rachel, you. As I said less than ten minutes ago, John feels something for you. We don't know exactly what it is, but there's something definitely there."

No. That is not possible, I thought to myself, well so I thought.

"It is possible, Rachel, anything is." Alice told me.

"Wait, did I say that out loud?" Alice nodded her head at me, and I laughed awkwardly. "Oh, that's embarrassing."

* * *

By the time we got back to the apartment complex, it was late afternoon around four o'clock. I smiled warmly at the young door man as we passed him before Alice and I entered the building. We headed up the three flights of stairs to the apartments the gang were renting out. Our voices and laughter bounced off the walls of the long hallway. We came to stop at the end of the hallway, me in front of John's apartment, and Alice in front of hers.

"Hey, Rachel", Alice started, grabbing my attention. I turned around, my green eyes falling on the younger woman. "I have a suggestion." I nodded, telling her she could continue. "You should grab the really pretty dress you brought at Peachy Keen, and grab that jacket you brought to go with it and those nude coloured peep-toe pumps, then, get your butt over to mine. We can get dressed together... well, not together, together, but you know what I mean."

I laughed out loud and nodded my head. "I know what you mean, Alice. Umm, just give me at least an hour. I'm gonna take a nice, long, hot shower, and then, of course, I have to find those particular items."

Alice nodded, with a smile. "Okay then. I'll be expecting you, Rachel." After she sent me another smile, she spun around and dropped a few bags on the floor. She brought her hand up and knocked on the wooden door three times. Not long after that, we heard footsteps coming towards the door. The lock clicked and the door opened, and Pete was standing there, a loving smile appeared on his lips at the sight of his girlfriend, Alice.

I smiled at this.

"Hey, Al." He greeted to her before he moved his attention to me. That particular loving smile directed at his girlfriend faded and a friendly smile appeared. "Hey, Rachel."

"Hey, Pete." I replied.

"So guys, how was shopping?" Pete asked, now looking between the two of us, and then, in a really girly tone, he added, "I wanna know all the gossip!"

That was it, the three of us all broke out in laughter. I was laughing so hard, I had tears falling down my cheeks. I wiped them away and looked at Pete, only to laugh again. This went on for a couple of minutes. As the seconds became minutes, the laughter only got louder. I was actually surprised that none of the other tenants hadn't come out to tell us to quieten down, but now that I had said something, they'd now come out and complain.

"It was good, hey Rachel?" She asked as she looked back at me, and I nodded with a smile. She looked back at her boyfriend. "We spoke about a few things, girl stuff. Sorry, babe, you wouldn't understand. Ooh, but, I got a new dress."

"Uh... Alice, you got a few dresses." I said, with a joking smile, and they both looked at me quickly before they looked at each other again.

"Now, why does that not surprise me?" Pete grinned down at her in a cheeky matter. He leaned down to kiss her.

Okay, that's my cue to leave... I thought and turned around to face the door, I didn't want to invade on their private moment. I completed the same steps as Alice and placed a few bags on the wooden floor of the hallway. Doing that freed one of my hands so I could reach and open the door, but I found I couldn't. The door was locked. I wasn't surprised, after all, he was Public Enemy Number One. Why would he leave the door unlocked for anyone to walk right into his apartment in the first place? That was right, he wouldn't. He didn't want any unexpected visitors, and in other words, the G-Men.

I shook my head and brought my hand up. I knocked on the wooden door three times and waited. Not long after that, I heard soft footsteps coming towards the door. The lock clicked and the door opened, and there stood John. Guilt washed over me as I watched him yawn and rub his eyes. I then realised that he was peacefully asleep before the moment I knocked on the door. Hmm, that's just perfect... my thoughts died on the spot and my breath got caught in my throat. I forgot about the guilt, that disappeared for a moment. I looked at John with full attention. Oh boy... I said in my mind as I noticed him was wearing nothing but sleep pants, and mind you, they were hanging very low on his hips. His slim build had defined muscles, and I ogled his shoulders, firm looking pecks and hard stomach that led down in an enticing V-shaped muscle to... Down there.

Then I remembered the guilt, and I felt it rising up again. I took a deep breath in and somehow found my voice, "I am so sorry, John. I didn't mean to wake you." I apologised. Shit, I've been doing that a lot today. When I woke him up this morning, when I made him hurt this morning, and now.

John shook his head at me. "It's okay, Rachel. You didn't know", he replied, and I smiled weakly back at him. I still felt really bad about waking him up. "Would you like some help with those?" He asked and gestured to the bags in my hands.

Slowly, I nodded. "Yes, please."

He, too, nodded and gently grabbed the bags from my right hand before he turned around and walked away. I swapped some bags to my left hand before I walked into the apartment and kicked the door behind me. I walked further into the apartment and made my way into the lounge room. I saw the shopping bags beside the leather lounge and my saviour was sitting down on the lounge, also, known as my bed for however long we were here in Chicago. I wasn't complaining, honestly, it happened to be a real comfy lounge.

I walked further into the lounge room and dropped all the bags with the others, and I sighed in relief. Both my hands were hurting, a lot, and I looked down to see both a light red. I frowned at that and looked up at John. He had his dark eyes on me again, and then he asked, "So, how was shopping?"

"It was good. Alice was on a mission to find a perfect dress for tonight. However, for me, I just got the things I was desperate for, so dresses; both for day and night, a few pairs of shoes, sleep clothes and undergarments." I replied.

"Did you find your perfect dress?" He asked.

"Yes, I did, and I'm wearing it tonight. To be honest, I'm pretty excited to wear it." I answered, and he nodded, but didn't say anything. Sadness washed over me for some reason, maybe it was because he didn't say along the longs of he couldn't wait to see me in it, either. Then again, why would he say that? I cleared all my thoughts and cleared my throat before I looked at John again and asked. "Hey John, is it okay if I go and take a nice, long, hot shower?"

"Of course, it is", he replied, "Did shopping take the energy out of you? Shopping with Alice does that to you."

"Yeah, a bit." I said, honestly, and then, with a playful smile, I added, "You could have warned me, at least."

"And what? Ruin the surprise that Alice can be very energetic when she's shopping? Nah." He joked back.

"You're a meany", I said and poked my tongue out at him. He gasped in mock surprise before he let out a loud laugh that bounced off the walls and the open space. I let out a laugh.

"Oh, and just so you know. Once I have a shower, Alice wants me to grab my perfect dress and a few other things, and then get my butt over to hers." I explained and I didn't miss the slight disappointment cross his face, but I chose to ignore it... well tried to as right at that point, Alice's words from earlier ran through my mind, John feels something for you. We don't know exactly what it is, but there's something definitely there. Oh... Alice.

"Oh, so she wants you to be her model for the night, then?" He inquired.

His voice pulled me from my thoughts and I focused my attention on him again, "Yeah, something like that."

"Why does that not surprise me the slightest?" John laughed.

"You know, that's pretty much what Pete said when she told him that she got a new dress", I told him.

After I grabbed what I needed for my shower, I looked at John. He was still in his same seat when he first down on the lounge. "I won't be long."

"Uh... just be careful with your stitches." He told me.

"Oh yeah, I forgot about the stitches..." I trailed off, sadly. "Thanks, John."

He nodded his head at me, and I turned and made my way to the en-suite. I felt his eyes on my back as I walked to John's bathroom and disappeared into his room. I entered the bathroom and closed the door behind me. Once I was free from my clothes, the water was running in the shower and was at the right temperature, I quickly stepped into the shower. As I got underneath the warm water, I almost moaned, but I managed to bite it off before it left my mouth. I stared at the tiled wall as the water hit my shoulders and descended down my body. As I stood there, just staring at the tiled wall, I realised that my shower had to be a quick one, much to my dismay. Not only was Alice was waiting for me, but John needed to have a shower, as well.

I sighed and bent down and grabbed the bottle of my new shampoo from the floor of the shower. I fetched a reasonable amount of shampoo on my palm before I returned the bottle to its place. I turned around again and proceeded to rub the shampoo through my long blonde locks. Once I had completed that, I tossed my sudsy hair back, allowing the shower beater to work the shampoo from my hair, and at the same time massage my tense shoulders.

I completed the same sequence again, this time with the conditioner, and as I was doing this, I took a deep breath in and the scent of the conditioner filled my nostrils. I absolutely loved the aroma of the shampoo and conditioner I had brought – it was a sultry blend of midnight amber and berry blossom.

I picked up the bottle of body wash from the shower floor, which happened to have the same scent of my shampoo and conditioner. Why ruin such a wonderful aroma by adding a different fragrance? Exactly. I squeezed a fair amount of body wash on my palm before I returned the bottle to its place. I stepped out from underneath the water and lathered up all the nooks, corners and curves of my body. I stepped forward so I was beneath the water again so I could wash the suds off my body.

Once all the suds were washed from my petite body, I twirled the knobs of the water and switched the water off. I swung the shower door open and stepped out. I grabbed the same towel I used last night from the towel-rail next to the shower and wrapped it around my body. I stepped towards the basin and wiped my hand across the fogged up mirror.

I moved my hand back to my side as I looked ahead and stared at the face looking back at me. My face, it was still bruised, cut, and it would be a few more weeks, maybe a month at the most. My eyes lingered on the stitches on my cheek. Once the stitches would be removed, I hoped to God that it wouldn't scar.

I sighed, and then, the memories I was desperately trying to forget came rushing back to me, flooding my mind. It was like a movie, just playing in my mind. It started with me standing in the kitchen, about to prepare dinner. Then, it skipped to the moment I was bent over, with my head buried in the fridge as I grabbed ingredients for dinner.

I shook my head, pushing the memories of last night to the back of my mind. I didn't want to see anymore. I knew what happened next and I didn't want to be reminded of it. I felt the tears brim along my waterline. I didn't want to cry because of him. I closed my eyes and took three deep breaths, hoping that would halt the tears, but it did nothing because as soon as I opened my eyes, the tears fell down my cheeks. I wiped them away with the back of my hand and turned away from the mirror.

I unwrapped the towel from my body and I dried down, and when I dried my face, I patted my skin, carefully around the area of my stitches. The next thing I dried my hair and once I did that, I got into my undergarments before I secured my body in my new satin, long blush pink dressing robe.

I bent down and picked up the wet towel from the tiled floor. I hung it over the towel track for it to dry before I turned around and grabbed my clothes from the bathroom floor. Skillfully, I opened the door and left the bathroom. I walked out of John's bedroom and entered the lounge room, only to find my savior, laying back on the lounge with his eyes closed and his hands resting underneath his head. He looked peaceful.

Carefully and quietly, I walked further into the lounge room and over to my bags where I grabbed the two bags containing my dress, shoes and the jacket. I stood up and turned around, the two bags clasped my hands. I also remembered to bring the clothes and shoes Alice had let me borrow with me before I left the lounge room and made my way to the door. Quietly, I opened the front door and stepped out of the apartment, and shut the door behind me. I walked over to the apartment Pete and Alice were sharing, and swapped the two bags from my right to my left hand before I brought my hand up to knock on the wooden door three times.

Rachel heard footsteps coming towards the door and a few moments later, the door opened and there stood Pete. A friendly smile appeared on his lips. "Hey, Rachel. Alice filled me in on what was happening the moment we stepped inside this apartment once you two got back, so come on in." He stepped to the side and allowed me to enter the apartment. I smiled warmly at him as I passed him. I stopped and looked around. No Alice. Hmm. There was only one place she could be and that was the shower. I looked back at Pete as he shut the door and locked it. He turned around and looked towards me. "Alice is currently in the shower, so you're more than welcome to sit on the lounge and wait, she shouldn't be too long. If she is longer than five minutes, I'll go barging in, telling her to hurry the hell up." He told me as if he read my mind, and I nodded my head at him.

"I'm sure she won't like that", I commented with a laugh as I walked over to the lounge and took a seat. I placed the bags on the floor by my feet before I looked up at Pete.

"No, she wouldn't", Pete replied, "But I'm absolutely positive if I said you were here, she'd be out of the shower so quick." He continued, and I laughed out loud.

It was five minutes later when Alice emerged from the bathroom, dressed in her perfect dress. Her eyes fell found me and she let out a deafening scream. I cringed and squeezed my eyes shut as I covered my ears with my hands. I still hadn't recovered from this morning when she screamed in my ear. I opened one eye and peered at Alice through one eye. She started laughing at me. Slowly, I removed my hands from my ears and stood up from the lounge, letting out a laugh.

"I was wonderin' when you'd be around", Alice said with a smile. "Come on, follow me and we'll get started."

I nodded before I bent down and grabbed my bags from the floor. I sent a smile to Pete as I passed him and made my way over to the younger woman. Alice wrapped her arm around my shoulder and led me into the bedroom. Upon our entry, she stopped and closed the door behind us. That was then when we started getting ready for tonight.

* * *

Despite the nerves creeping up on me, I couldn't wait to get this night under way. I couldn't wait to forget what I had been through and start fresh. I couldn't wait to meet the gang I'd be travelling with. Hell, I couldn't wait to be in the same room as John. I couldn't wait to see their reaction, especially John's, to what Alice and I had done.

And that would be soon, very soon.

* * *

_Reviews are loved and constructive criticism is welcome. Thank you for taking the time to read this. I hope you enjoyed it._

_Next chapter will be up soon. _

_Love Bree._


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